A 16th-century portrait at Seoul’s Sejong Museum, titled “Portrait of the Spanish Prince” (attributed to Sofonisba Anguissola, c.1573), shows a youthful-looking subject thought to be Infante Felipe (later Philip II). The sitter’s childlike facial features clash with a dignified, mature pose, a discrepancy explained by the period practice of “reminiscent portraits” (painting adults as their youthful likeness). Museums and scholars argue the image emphasizes royal legitimacy: the prince holds a dagger and a baton—symbols of military command—while his elevated gaze makes viewers look up to him. Attribution was once given to Alonso Sánchez Coello but is now commonly credited to Anguissola, an influential Italian-born female painter who worked at Philip II’s court and taught Queen Isabel of Valois.
