# Charles II as Grandmaster of the Golden Fleece [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [CARREÑO DE MIRANDA, Juan]() - Date: 1651-1700 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 217 x 141 cm ## Commentary Carreño was appointed to the rank of court painter in 1671. Once installed as court painter, Carreño, like his illustrious predecessor Velázquez, devoted himself principally to portraiture. The physiognomy of Charles II as not inspiring, it revealed the consequences of six generations of inbreeding. However, Carreño did his job with skill and dignity. The secret of his success is a compositional format in which the sitters are depicted within a state room in the palace, most frequently the famous Hall of Mirrors. This device allowed the artist to soften the impact of the king's appearance by drawing attention to the surroundings, especially the fascinating reflections of the pictures in the room. As the king aged, he grew inexorably uglier. In this flamboyant portrait of Charles as grandmaster of the Golden Fleece, the disparity between the regal trappings and the lost soul encased within them is profoundly unsettling. The very brilliance of execution only heightens the impression of the king's inadequacy for his lofty office. ## Related artworks - [Assumption of the Virgin]() - [Duke of Pastrana]() - [Eugenia Martinez Valleji, called La Monstrua]() - [King Charles II of Spain]() - [La Monstrua Desnuda \(Eugenia Martinez Vallejo Unclothed\)]() - [Mass of St John of Matha]() - [Mass of St John of Matha]() - [Portrait of Charles II \(detail\)]() - [Portrait of Charles II]() - [Portrait of Don Juan José de Austria \(?\)]() - [Portrait of Queen Mariana de Austria]() - [Queen Mariana de Austria as a Widow]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()