Portrait of King D. Sebastião (1554-1578) of Portugal

oil on canvas
Iberian school
17th C.
back with paper label printed with the inscription APPARTENENTE ALLA PRINCIPESSA MARGHERITA BLANC RUSPOLI
Dim. - 64 x 48 cm
Notes: we found two princesses Margherita Ruspoli. One born in 1703, daughter of Francesco Marescotti Ruspoli, 1st prince of Cerveteri (1672-1731) and his wife Isabella Cesi (1676-1753). She was the fourth granddaughter of Giulia Farnese (c. 1530), cousin of Rainuncio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (1569-1622), son of Infanta Dona Maria of Portugal (1538-1577), grandson of Infante D. Duarte of Portugal (1515-1540), Duke of Guimarães and, consequently, legitimate heir to the crown of Portugal, after the death of Cardinal-King Henrique in 1580. The other princess, born in 1870 and died in 1970, daughter of Emanuele Ruspoli, 1st prince of Poggio-Suasa (1837- 1899) and great-granddaughter of Francesco Ruspoli, 3rd Prince of Cerveteri (1752-1829). Could either of these two princesses have owned this portrait because they belonged to the family that held the legitimate rights to the crown of Portugal? Do not forget that the Dukes of Parma, from 1580 onwards, added to their arms an over-all with the arms of Portugal, in a clear allusion to their rights.