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Hispania. Female bust - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado

Hispania. Female bust - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado

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This female bust, identified by Hübner in the inventories of the Alcázar, represents Hispania, the personification of Spain, according to a type developed in the time of Philip II. Her hair bears similarities to the “towering” haridos seen on Roman matrons of the middle of the 2^nd century A.D., but is more heavily ornamented with curls. The workmanship and proportions of the head bring to mind female portraits of the Constantinian era (4^th century A.D.), although their hairdos are different. The head type does not resemble the Roman Hispania that appears on ancient coins and in reliefs; therefore, we surmise that this type was a 16^th-century invention. The Roman-style hairdo evokes a royal crown of the Renaissance period, making her look like a Queen (Text drawn from Shröeder, Stephan, The Majesty of Spain, Jackson, Mississippi, 2001, p. 115).