Philip IV of Spain 1912

This is Timothy Cole's wood engraving of Philip IV of Spain, made in 1903. Cole was an American engraver who made his name reproducing Old Master paintings. This one is a copy of a portrait by Diego Velázquez, the court painter in Madrid. What's interesting is how Cole, at the turn of the twentieth century, chose to represent this figure from the Spanish Golden Age. Philip IV's lavish dress and confident pose are visual codes of power, referencing a time when Spain was a dominant global force. But by 1903, the Spanish empire was long gone and the country was undergoing a period of social and political turmoil. Was Cole trying to evoke a sense of national pride, or perhaps to critique the excesses of monarchy? As art historians, we can look at the journals and letters of Cole to better understand his motivations and cultural context. We can only know what art means by understanding the social institutions and historical forces that have shaped its production and reception.