Ferdinand VII, King of Spain
1827. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This is a fragment of The Landing of Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz) with the portrait of Ferdinand VII (La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, 1784–Madrid, 1833), King of Spain (1808 and 1814–33), dressed as captain-general. Over his uniform, he wears the insignia of the Golden Fleece and the sash of the Royal Order of Charles III, King of Spain. The painting to which this fragment belongs depicted Ferdinand VII’s encounter with the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis – French troops commanded by the Duke of Angouleme – on 1 October 1823 in Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz when he returned from his exile. This encounter put an end to the Liberal Triennium (1820–23). The characters have been identified according to the description included in the leaflet published by the painter in 1828. It was commissioned by the Madrid city council to His Majesty’s court painter, José Aparicio, in order to perpetuate the memory of the royal family’s freedom. The Royal Decree of 17 September 1827 ordered the painting to be exhibited in the public exhibition being held at that moment in the Real Academia of San Fernando, and once this was concluded, the painting would be displayed in the Real Museo de las Pinturas.
By virtue of a Royal Decree in 1833, the work was subsequently deposited in the Supreme Court of Justice in Madrid. It is possible that it was partially damaged in the fire of the Supreme Court (Salesas Palace) on 5 May 1915. The fragments were acquired by the Marquess of Cerralbo in El Rastro Market in Madrid. The State accepted them as part of Villa-Huerta collection bequest, pursuant to the provisions in the Will of the Hon Lady Mrs Amelia del Valle y Serrano, marquise of Villa-Huerta, granted in Madrid on 6 January 1927, before notary Mr Luis Gallinal y Pedregal. 13 framed portraits and eight frameless fragments, with inventory numbers VH0019–VH0031 and VH0431 entered the Museo Cerralbo. Before being brought to Madrid, the paintings were located in the Palace of Santa María de Huerta in Soria, under the ownership of the Marquises, and were exhibited in the Billiard Room on the Main Floor and in the Painting Galleries on the Mezzanine Floor in the mid-20th century. All of them have been kept in the Museo Cerralbo, whose storage was regulated by the Order of 6 August 2015.
