A portrait of Charles III, King of Spain (1716-1788), three-quarter length, wearing the insignia of the orders of the Holy Spirit, of St. Januarius and of the Golden Fleece

This composition is copied from Marino Salvador Maella's Portrait of King Charles III, dated 1783, now in the Colección Banco de España, Madrid (inv. no. P_56). The likeness itself derives from Anton Mengs' official portrait, painted around 1767 and for which the king sat, now at the Prado Museum, Madrid (inv. no. P002200). The Prado painting was the source of the many copies and variants produced by Mengs, his workshop and followers. The present painting depicts the monarch in a red velvet waistcoat with gold embroidery, a departure from the armor seen in the Prado picture. When last sold in 1993, this painting was attributed to Andrés Ginés de Aguirre' (loc. cit.), who became Maella's assistant in 1785.