Alter Nos del Rey.La representación del poder de los virreyes en el reinado de Felipe II (1556-1598)

Abstract

In the second half of the 16th century, the Hispanic Monarchy of Philip II (1556-1598) was constituted as a political, social, cultural and economic mosaic. The extension of its dominions and the personalism of its politics defined the vice-kingdom system as the most appropriate model for the government of such distant territories that lacked the figure and personification of royal power, while respecting the autonomy of its institutions and their jurisdictions. Upon his return from Flanders in 1559, Philip II never left the kingdoms outside the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to governmental and administrative importance, the vice-king personified and presented the physical representation of the political power of the absent monarch as his alter ego during celebrations and ceremonies and in front of the subjects and political institutions of each territory. As the highest representative of the Crown, the figure of the vice-king was celebrated and exalted in the production of visual culture that exalted his image. That is why the present work proposes a study on the vice-king of Aragon, Naples, New Spain, Peru and Portugal throughout the reign of Philip II, analyzing the visual representations of their alter nos in painted portraits, engravings, medals, sculptures and solemn entries into the Hispanic Monarchy. The image of the vice-kings will be analyzed to understand the possible peculiarities of each of their representations, as well as, whenever possible, analyze the "counter image" of the viceroys, that is, the production of images critical of their governments.