On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00656
- Author
- Zurbarán, Francisco de (Spanish)
- Title
- The Defense of Cadiz against the English
- Chronology
- 1634
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 302 cm x 323 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The Governor of Cadiz, Fernando
Girón, is shown giving instructions
to his subordinates in order to
organize the defense of this city
when it was threatened by the
English fleet that appears in the
background. This even took place in
1625 and was one of the battles
chosen to decorate the Hall of
Kingdoms at the Buen Retiro Palace
in Madrid, along with other works
commissioned from Spanish painters,
including Velasquez, Maíno, Vicente
Carducho and Pereda.
This is an important work, and a
singular one in Zurbarán's output,
not only because it was
commissioned by the court, but also
because it marks one of the very
few occasions in which he dealt
with a subject from “civil
history.” The artist shows some of
the virtues that made him a
reference point in the history of
Spanish painting of his time: his
precise portraiture and his
capacity to reproduce a great
variety of textures in an exact,
detailed manner.
Location on the map
