José Villegas was appointed as Director of the Museo del Prado in 1901, which led him to return to Madrid from Rome. Shortly after he arrived back in Spain, he received the commission for this portrait of the young Alfonso XIII who, born in 1886, had then just turned sixteen. This was the age at which he was proclaimed of age and King of Spain, so that his mother Queen Maria Christina automatically ceased to be regent. The Bank contracted José Villegas y Corderdo to paint a portrait to be hung in the General Boardroom of the new Banco de España building. Villegas was sent the following letter, a copy of which is kept in the Historical Archive of the Banco de España:

As this Bank wishes to own a full-length, actual sized portrait of H.M. the King for the dais of the General Boardroom, we ask that you deign to accept the commission to paint it, taking into account that it will have to be completed by January 1903 and that the dimensions of the canvas currently in the place in question are approximately 2.25 x 1.50 m. I would respectfully ask you not to ignore this respect, even if it means that other works from your marvellous brushstrokes have to be delayed.

Known for his skilful use of colour, Villegas painted the king in his white and gold coronation robes, under a splendid blue clock, as a Grand Master of the Order of Charles III. It should be compared with the portraits of his immediate predecessors, such as those of Isabella II by Soriano Murillo and Alfonso XII by Carlos Luis de Ribera. Villegas’s extraordinary modernity can be seen in numerous aspects, from the impasto relief of the insignia hanging from the monarch’s neck and the sketched treatment of the embroidery on the cloak to the general air of dynamism in both the king’s gesture and the positioning of items such as the cushion on the floor. Despite Villegas’s attempt to hide it by darkening the background, the work still betrays certain doubts regarding the composition and ideas that he subsequently thought better of, such as a pilaster relief that is still noticeable in the lower right of the canvas.  His decisions are noteworthy in his attempt to focus attention on the youthful yet regal figure to the detriment of the usual decorative, rather rigid rhetoric that usually surrounds formal portraits.

Alfonso XIII reigned until 12 April 1931, when a republican majority in the municipal elections across Spain led him to leave the throne and country. He died in Rome on 28 February 1941.

• Julián Gállego Serrano
• María José Alonso
• Carlos Martín