The name 'Domínguez' appears on a label stuck to the back of this painting. This may be why may people failed to see the obvious similarities in colour, composition and even size with the portrait of Amadeo I by Carlos Luis de Ribera. There is now no doubt as to who painted it, as the invoice submitted by the artist to the Banco de España on 29 March 1875 has been found (for 20,000 reales de vellón, the same price as the portrait of Amadeo I painted a few years earlier). Alfonso XII was born on 28 November 1857 and had not yet reached his 20th birthday when he was proclaimed king of Spain in Sagunto on 29 December 1874. He entered Madrid in a triumphal procession the following month of January. As with his predecessor, the Bank commissioned Carlos Luis de Ribera to paint his portrait.

In his portrait of Alfonso XII, Ribera uses almost exactly the same layout as for Amadeo I, right down to the palette of colours, featuring ochres, reds and yellows and the decision to paint him in his riding uniform. The only difference is that the background is sketchier in this portrait of the son of Isabella II and the king himself looks less gallant, more indecisive and kindlier. The painting is retouched to correct the tight fit of his riding breeches. Alfonso XII married his cousin Maria Mercedes of Orleans and Bourbon in 1878, but she died just five months after the wedding. He remarried on 29 November 1879 to Maria Christina of Austria. He died on 25 November 1885.

• Julián Gállego Serrano
• María José Alonso