New portraits of Philip VI and Queen Letizia were unveiled. By Annie Leibovitz

On Monday at the Bank Spain Portraits of King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia by the outstanding American photographer Annie Leibovitz were unveiled in Madrid. As the “El Pais” website emphasizes, Leibovitz is one of the most important and best-earning photographers in the world, and the premiere of her works is always an important event. The daily adds that the royal couple usually has control over how they will be portrayed in this type of projects, but this time all decisions regarding the portraits were made by the artist herself.

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– She had complete freedom, from the choice of setting to what she wore, explained Yolanda Romero Gómez, art historian and director of conservation and heritage at the Bank of Spain, during the presentation of the portraits. The royal couple's photo session took place on February 7 and “lasted almost five hours.” It was intimate and the team working on it consisted of only five people. We see Philip VI in a formal military uniform, and Letizia is dressed in a black dress made of pleated silk tulle and a fuchsia cape.

“El Pais” reports that the American artist considered various places in the Royal Palace, including the gardens, but ultimately decided on the Gasparini Room. The photos clearly show the room's decor, including a marble floor, curtains embroidered with silk and gold and silver threads, and valuable wooden furniture.

– We received photographic portraits, but paradoxically they are very painterly: they were made on canvas, not on photographic paper, which contributes to the impression of looking at a picture – said Yolanda Romero. – In this way, the artist follows the tradition of Spanish institutional portraiture. In her composition we find allusions to the court portraitist Velázquez, who was able to create the illusion in the viewer that he or she was witnessing the scene, that he could almost enter the painting. This impression is reinforced by the size of the paintings, added the art historian. The works will be open to the public from November 27 to March 29 next year, and will then be moved to the Bank's Governing Council room. The Bank of Spain has works by the most outstanding portrait painters in history, including Francisco Goya, Vicente López, Federico Madrazo and José Gutiérrez de la Vega. Now Annie Leibovitz has joined them.

Leibovitz has produced many iconic photographs. She persuaded John Lennon to do a nude photo session with Yoko Ono. She convinced Demi Moore to pose without clothes when she was seven months pregnant. She photographed Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk and Mikhail Gorbachev sitting in a car with the remains of the Berlin Wall visible outside the windows.

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