Charles IV in Court Dress
1789 Museo del Prado
About this artwork
This life-sized portrait depicts King Charles IV of Spain standing in formal court dress, adorned with his royal sashes and orders. It is part of the extensive collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Did you know?
Goya painted this portrait shortly after Charles IV ascended the throne in 1789. The image captures the King at the beginning of his reign, a time when Goya was firmly established as a court painter. Despite the grand display of regalia, historians often point to how Goya's later, more psychological portraits of the royal family would become famously unsparing, though this earlier work remains firmly within the dignified tradition of royal portraiture.
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Charles IV in Court Dress
Francisco Goya, 1789
