This elegant portrait attributed to Spanish court painter Miguel Jacinto Meléndez depicts Elizabeth Farnese (1692-1766), the second wife of Philip V of Spain (1683-1746). It shows the early influences of the French style on eighteenth century Spanish portraiture.

Elizabeth Farnese was the daughter and heir of Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma (1666-1693). In 1714 she was married to Philip V, the first Bourbon King of of Spain; a weak and ineffectual King, he was immediately dominated by his ambitious and politically active wife.

Miguel Jacinto Meléndez (1679-1734) was one of a family of artists including his brother, Francisco Antonio, a miniaturist at the court of Philip V and his son Luis, one of the foremost still life painters of the eighteenth century. Meléndez trained in the studio of Jose Garcia Hidalgo and his early works follow the traditions of the late baroque style of the Madrid School. With the death of the last three great Spanish baroque painters Juan Carreño Miranda, Francisco Rizi and Francisco de Herrera at the end of the seventeenth century, Melendez cosolidated his position as the leading portraitist at the court of the Austrias. In 1712 he becamehonorary court portraitist and despite receiving no salary until 1727, enjoyed a heightened social and economic status. After the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) royal portraits became an important tool for political propaganda and due to his early training and subsequent experience, Melendez was increasingly favoured at court. Although Melendez's work during this period was beginning to demonstrate the influence of the French School, with more solid brushwork and a cooler palette, the arrival from France of Jean Ranc in 1724 eventually displaced him. His later years were spent painting religious works for churches and convents and imitating the works of Carreño and Mateo Cerezo.

This painting shows a young Elizabeth Farnese seated in half-length. She wears a blue dress trimmed with gold brocade and a red mantle. Her right hand rests on a small dog, a symbol of fidelity, which is seated on a cushion beside her.