Mr Viral
In the 20 years that they have been married, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia have posed for official portraits by many photographers. None, however, have been the subject of as much anticipation as those taken by Annie Leibovitz, one of the most celebrated photographers in the world, for the Banco de España’s collection of royal portraits.
The occasion for the new portraits was the 10th anniversary of Felipe VI’s ascent to the throne. Rather than create one portrait with both monarchs, Leibovitz shows them separately in a diptych. Both images are on a large scale, measuring 7 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 5 inches and the intention is that they will always be displayed together.
The two portraits cost the Banco de España around $145,000 (another portrait of the former governor of the bank, Pablo Hernández de Cos, was an additional almost $93,000). The photos were taken in February during a session which lasted more than five hours at the Royal Palace in Madrid, in the Salón de Gasparini, where the king receives dignitaries and honored guests. One of the most beautiful rooms in the palace, its elaborate 18th-century Rococo chinoiserie design has survived practically untouched.
When it came to selecting an outfit for the occasion, Queen Letizia opted for two vintage pieces by the most important Spanish haute couture designer in history, Cristóbal Balenciaga: a strapless black silk tulle ball gown paired with a red silk cape. Both belong to the private collection of the Fundación Antoni de Montpalau, which is dedicated to fashion and fabrics from Catalonia and the rest of Spain. The pieces are on display in the foundation’s collection in Sabadell, Spain, and were lent to the queen following her personal request. The queen also wears a necklace and earrings from the jewelry collection of the king’s great-grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia.
Queen Letizia photographed by Annie Leibovitz.Photograph by ANNIE LEIBOVITZ
Photograph printed on primed polyester canvas with UV curable inks
Commissioned from the artist in 2023
Colección Banco de España
In his own portrait, King Felipe VI wears a military uniform, as he has done in other official images. This time, he wears the uniform of Captain General of the Army, with the insignia of Captain General on both sides of the collar along with those of some of the most important Spanish orders of which, as Spain’s king, he is a member: the Collar, the Cross, and the Band of the Royal Order of Charles III and the Crosses of the Aeronautical, Military and Naval Merits.
The style, the lighting, the setting, and the poses of the monarchs seem more typical of a portrait on canvas than a photograph. These are all choices that were completely intentional, as Yolanda Romero, the curator of the exhibition, “The Tyranny of Chronos,” explains: “These are picturesque compositions with allusions to the works of another artist who created court portraits, Velázquez.” (The exhibition includes 50 works by 24 different artists, with tapestries, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and watches that touch on the theme of the passage of time. It is open to the public from November 27, 2024, through March 29, 2025. Entry is free, but it is necessary to book in advance.)
Leibovitz created the portraits in February, during a photo session that lasted for more than five hours, during which the Royal Palace in Madrid closed its doors to the public and the monarchs cleared their agendas of appearances. The king and queen already knew Leibovitz, having awarded her the Prince of Asturias Prize in the category of Communication and Humanities in 2013 (it was the last year that Felipe held the title of Prince of Asturias before becoming king). She was given complete artistic freedom and selected the final portraits.
The American photographer has some notable experience when it comes to royal portrait commissions. In 2007, she had a session with Queen Elizabeth II, which included a now famous exchange. When Leibovitz suggested that the queen pose without her crown for a “less formal” image, Elizabeth reportedly responded, “Less formal? What do you think this is?”
The result clearly pleased the palace, and, almost a decade later, in 2016, Leibovitz photographed Elizabeth II again, along with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh; her daughter, Princess Anne; some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and her beloved corgis. Among the photographer’s most famous portraits are iconic images of a pregnant Demi Moore, John Lennon and Yoko Ono in bed, and countless Vanity Fair covers.
Her images of Felipe VI and Letizia are the first photographic portraits of any of Spain’s monarchs to become part of the Banco de España’s collection, but they join the bank’s many noteworthy royal portraits on canvas. These include ones of Charles III by Francisco de Goya and a pair of portraits of Spain’s previous reigning monarchs, Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, by the Sevillian painter Carmen Laffón, commissioned in 1983.
This article was originally published by Vanity Fair Spain. It was translated by John Newton.
Cormac McCarthy’s Secret Muse Breaks Her Silence After Half a Century
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings