Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Oneglia

Emmanuel Philibert (1588–1624) was the third son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (1562–1630). Emmanuel was created Prince of Oneglia in 1620, and Viceroy of Sicily in 1621. Decorated with emblems of the House of Savoy, the armour the Prince wears in this portrait is preserved in the Royal Armouries in Madrid, Spain. 

Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) was a Flemish painter who experienced much of his later career success in England. Prior to his move to England, Van Dyck spent extensive time in Italy and this portrait was painted during his stay in the southern Italian city of Palermo, Sicily, in the spring and summer of 1624. At this time there was an outbreak of plague, from which Emmanuel Philibert died on 3 August. The composition may be based on a lost portrait by the Venetian painter Titian (active c.1506 – d.1576) of the Habsburg Emperor Charles V (1500–58). Van Dyck was strongly inspired by Titian, whose works he came to know during his stay in Italy between 1621 and 1627.