Roman Soldiers in the Circus
Ca. 1640. Oil on canvas.Room 005
The story of the Museo del Prado’s Roman Soldiers at the Circus is similar to that of Roman Athletes (P92) and to Andrea di Lione’s Elephants at a Circus (P91). This artist passed through Falcone’s workshop and his works have often been mistaken for those of his teacher. As is often the case in the History of Rome cycle, it is difficult to date this work, which is not mentioned by any contemporaneous authors. Lacking precise historical information, we could suggest a date around 1640, close to Di Lione’s fresco at the chapel of Saint Agatha in the Neapolitan church of San Paolo Maggiore. The soldiers in that work vividly recall those in the Prado’s painting. In any case, it cannot be later than 1643, when the Count-Duke of Olivares fell from grace. Its clearest influence is Poussin, whose Meleager’s Hunt (P2320) has often been related to the present work, although it has not yet been possible to define the terms of that relationship. A drawing at the Galleria degli Uffizi appears to be a study for this painting, although the general composition of its figures is close to one of the plates that Giacomo Lauro included in his book, Maraviglie della Roman antica -specifically, the one titled De dignitate militari apud romanos, which appears reversed in Falcone’s reproduction.
In recent decades, efforts have been made to establish the existence of a series of paintings related to the History of Rome -including the present work- that Philip IV’s representatives would have commissioned in that city and in Naples around 1634 for the Buen Retiro Palace. Today, twenty-eight extant works can be related to this project (most in the Museo del Prado or Patrimonio Nacional), along with another six mentioned in Charles II’s will but now lost or destroyed. This total of thirty-four paintings constitutes the largest group from the Retiro, including the Hall of Realms. The only larger group consists of mythological scenes that the king’s brother, Cardinal-Infante don Fernando, commissioned Rubens to paint for the Torre de la Parada. The size of the Roman group is the first indication of its importance in the new palace (Text drawn from Úbeda de los Cobos, A. in: El Palacio del Rey Planeta. Felipe IV y el Buen Retiro, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2005, pp. 169-170; 202-203).
