Ferdinand II of Aragon and V of Castile: "the Catholic"

This half-length portrait shows Ferdinand II "the Catholic" of Aragon dressed in a tunic trimmed with gold at the neck and cuffs. In his right hand he holds a scepter while his left hand rests on a sword with a hilt depicting a monkey's head—an allusion to the king's cunning.

The painting is one of a pair, the other being a portrait of his wife Isabella I "the Catholic" of Castile. Both works came into the Naval Museum collection in 1854 from the former Royal Museum of Painting and Sculpture, now the Prado Museum.

Although some researchers believe they are copies of portraits by Juan de Flandes, court painter to the Catholic Monarchs, the creator and exact provenance of both works is yet to be proven.