The Retiro Park with strollers
1779. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
It is part of the series of tapestry cartoons commissioned to José del Castillo in April 1777 for the decoration of the powder room of the Princess of Asturias, the future Queen María Luisa, in the El Pardo Palace. Castillo delivered the cartoon to the Royal Tapestry Factory on 22 July 1779. It depicts a view of the Retiro Park with the Horse Garden in the background, where stood the statue of Philip IV on horseback by Pietro Tacca. On the right, there is a statue of Isis holding a sistrum in her right hand. Among the strollers, there is a gardener on the left, dressed as a majo, offering flowers to a lady, which are received in a handkerchief by her maid. Meanwhile, her partner standing behind the gardener, and removed from of their sight, looks for a coin with which to reward him. In the centre, a fop with a lady in a gown is walking up two steps, while on the right, a soldier dressed in blue and leaning on a cane is looking at the statue of Isis. Next to him a lady in a rose-coloured gown and another soldier are seated on the step. Among the strollers in the background, a pasiega –native of Pas– seats at the foot of some trees in the shade, breastfeeding a child, with whom a lady with a mantilla over her shoulders is playing. Near them a gardener carries a basket of fruit on his head. There are other examples of this series in Museo del Prado (P003934, P003935, P003936, P5521, P003534, P003311, P003312, P003313, P003314).
