James I the Conqueror

Jaume Mateu's James I the Conqueror, dated 1427 and now in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, is a posthumous portrait of the thirteenth-century Aragonese king who conquered Valencia and Mallorca from Islamic rule, creating the Crown of Aragon's Mediterranean empire. The portrait belongs to a series of Aragonese royal portraits commissioned around 1427 for the royal palace, intended to assert the legitimacy and historical depth of the Aragonese dynasty. Mateu was a leading Valencian painter and this series of royal likenesses is an important early example of retrospective historical portraiture in Spain. James I's reign was seen as the founding moment of Aragonese greatness.

Mateu renders the king in a heraldic profile or three-quarter pose with the royal insignia of Aragon. The portrait style follows the conventions of memorial royal portraiture rather than from-life observation, creating an idealized image of kingship. Color is bold and clear, with the red and gold of the Aragonese coat of arms prominent.