Anne of Austria, Queen of Spain

The painting is very representative of Spanish court portraiture, following the style established by Anthonis Mor (1519–76), and continued by his students Sánchez Coello, Villandrando, Pantoja de la Cruz, or Bartolome González. The subject is Philip II's fourth wife. She was also his niece—the daughter of his sister Maria, Empress of Germany, and her husband Emperor Maximilian II, who was himself cousin to the Spanish king. Anne was born in Cigales, in the province of Valladolid, in 1549. She was married in Segovia in 1570, died in Badajoz in 1580, and was mother to Philip III. The queen is wearing a sumptuous white silk dress embroidered in gold.