Secret of the Knight of the Military Order of Alcantara. Historian in Front of the Portrait From the Hermitage

The article attempts to reattribute the portrait of Diego de Villamayor by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (1605) from the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg). The current attribution, based entirely on the abbreviation contained in the portrait, is not indisputable and is not confirmed by the documental sources. Thanks to the use of information contained in the inscriptions on the portrait (the name and age of the person depicted, the date) and the cross of the Military Order of Alcántara, a candidate who met these requirements was found in the archival documentation of the Military Orders - Diego Sarmiento de Mendoza. During the search of notarial acts related to his family, it was possible to find a description of the portrait, clearly connected with Don Diego and at the same time fully corresponding to the painting from the Hermitage. Establishing the exact name of the knight of Alcántara allows us to collect important information about him, which permits us better understand the content of the painting, the historical context of its creation and existence.