Portrait of Joan of Castile

The Master of Affligem painted this Portrait of Joan of Castile around 1500. Joan, known as Juana la Loca, was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and mother of Emperor Charles V. Her portrait served diplomatic and dynastic purposes across the Burgundian-Spanish Habsburg network. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

Oil on panel with careful formal portrait rendering in the Brabantine tradition. The young queen's features and costume are depicted with the precision and dignity appropriate to dynastic portraiture.