"The first autonomous, non-allegorical, non-ceremonial equestrian portrait" Panofsky, E., Erwin Panofsky, Problems in Titian, mostly Iconographic, New York, 1969

This equestrian portrait is one of the most celebrated in history and the image par excellence of Charles V. It was painted in Augsburg in 1548 to commemorate the Emperor’s victory over the Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg on 24 April 1547.

Despite its innovative nature and its exceptional iconographic and aesthetic characteristics, Titian’s painting did not have an immediate influence on the genre of the equestrian portrait and it was not until the early 17th century that such images came to occupy a place of honour in court art through the work of Rubens, Van Dyck and Velázquez.