This painting is part of a series of pictures of the Royal Sites which includes five panoramas of El Escorial from different viewpoints. They are all unmistakably descriptive in nature as the emphasis is on the overall views, each of which includes a couple of accessory details in order to humanise the theme, such as monks, passers-by, an oxcart or a pilgrim, among others. This panoramic view of el Escorial, which is serene, grandiose and bathed in light, relegates architecture to an almost secondary role, making the solemn building a sort of pretext for the artistic creation of a timeless space. Using surprisingly modern formulas that can be compared with those of certain of Oudry´s and Desportes´ studies of landscape, Houasse´s art evidences concerns that appear to be characteristic of the second half of the 19th century, midway between Corot´s formulas and the basic principles of Impressionism. An example of what the painter is capable of with respect to breathing new life into landscape portrayal is this extremely special painting which, like its companions, is aimed at showing the places where court life took place. The sensation of scenery that is directly treated, intuited in its full dimension and meaning with deep sensitivity, attests to the artist´s mastery at capturing nature using light brushstrokes which, instead of defining precisely, sketch by means of brief touches that are unexpectedly modern for his time. The human figure shown -a monk engrossed in his reading, oblivious to the beauty of the setting- is a simple reference that recalls the presence of the Hieronymite order in the founding of the monastery, and also a technical device, as it serves as a foreground reference for introducing the background landscape, affording it a deep perspective in whose spatial arrangement the architectural monument is included with a palpable sense of reality. It is reasonable to think that the work, the precise date of which is unknown, was executed early in the 1720s, around the time when the presence of Jean Ranc, who arrived in Madrid in 1722, supplanted Houasse permanently in the execution of portraits for the royal family (Text drawn from Luna, J. J.: From Titian to Goya. Great Masters of the Museo del Prado, National Art Museum of China-Shanghai Museum, 2007, p. 375).