The Mole Man? Ferdinand II of Spain by Michel Sittow
Not to be confused with the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, Ferdinand II of Spain had one heck of a royal portrait. Ferdinand II was the King of Sicily, Aragon, Castile, Naples and Navarre. Here, we have a prime example of the trademark Habsburg Jaw. As you can see here, that means that there was a very weak chin and soft jaw… but not flattering at all. Having the Habsburg Jaw is oftentimes used as an offhanded insult. As a devout Catholic, he would have not partaken heavily in spirits. However, there is something definitely wrong with his eyes that would make one thing he’d been either heavily influenced or dog tired.`
The early part of his reign was characterized by brutal fighting and forced conversions in Moor-held Spain. He was ruthlessly effective though, bringing to a close the several-century long period known as the Reconquista. Ferdinand is most famous for patronizing the Age of Discovery. It was he and his wife Isabella I who funded the expeditions of Christopher Columbus. The painter, Michel Sittow, was a very popular and respected portraitist of the time. So it’s strange that this particular portrait stands out in such a negative way. We don’t know when this unflattering portrait was made, but considering he died in 1516 aged 63 we can reasonably guess it was sometime during this time in the late fifteenth century.