These four portraits of women, two double ones and two single ones (P02074, P02075 and P02076) presented standing and down to kneelevel, use the same architectural setting. The series is given visual unity by the use of a central niche and two more, barely visible ones at the sides, separated by masonry pillars and decorated with small lions’ heads in the centre.This use of shared elements is prob
Figura de más de medio cuerpo, en pie; lleva cruz de pedrería al cuello, pendiente de un collar de chatones, rubíes y perlas; diadema de pedrería; cuello y puños, de puntas; mangas de color gris verdoso con adornos dorados y rojos.
In keeping with iconographic tradition, the Virgin turns in surprise at the arrival of the Archangel Gabriel and the Holy Ghost. This work is very close, compositionally and stylistically, to the Annunciation of the Modena Triptych, but it is not known whether it is a sketch for that work, or an autograph reduction. Probably painted in Venice just before 1570, this piece seems to be inspired by th
On August 29, 1626, King Philip IV’s painter, Vicente Carducho (ca. 1576-1638), signed a contract for the creation of a cycle of paintings to celebrate the founding of the Carthusian Order by Saint Bruno and its leading members. This colossal undertaking sought to visually narrate numerous episodes from the Carthusians’ history and tradition. It was the most complete commission ever dedicated to t
Titian represented the Gospel account of the burial of Christ (Matthew 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 44-47; Luke 23: 50-54; John 19: 38-42) on several occasions. There is a notable difference between his first version (Paris, Louvre) of around 1526 which is clearly indebted to Raphael´s painting of that subject (Rome, Galleria Borghese), and his other versions painted between 1559 and 1572. The main differe
Mary sits in front of a Renaissance shrine. The figures look like sculptures, as was customary in Gossaert from 1508-1509 on. They reflect his study of ancient sculptures and the drawings he made during his trip to Rome in the company of his patron, Phillip de Bourgogne. Despite the plastic character of his Romanism, there are also echoes of Raphael in the pyramidal composition. Faithful to the Fl
Traditionally catalogued as a work from Tintoretto´s youth, the dating of this painting has been moved to the late fifteen-seventies by recent studies. The artist draws on the Bible story (Judith 13, 9-11) but his reading of the subject is not erotic. Here, Judith wears her finest clothing to seduce Holofernes, rather than appearing nude, as was habitual in Italian Renaissance art. The action take
John Frederick I of Saxony (Torgau, 30 June 1503–Jena, 3 March 1554), Duke of Saxony-Wittenberg from 1532, was the principal defender of Luther, a fact that brought him into conflict with Charles V. In 1546 these differences resulted in an armed conflict that culminated at Mühlberg on 24 April 1547 when the Imperial army defeated the Schmalkaldic League and captured its leaders, John Frederic
This panel was the first painting produced by the artist when he started working for Philip II at the monastery of El Escorial. He had just returned from Italy, and already displayed a remarkable ability to blend the various elements that together shaped his Escorial style: the landscape has Netherlandish echoes, whilst the figures are handled in a Mannerist style reminiscent of Raphael and Michel
Titian represented the Gospel account of the burial of Christ (Matthew 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 44-47; Luke 23: 50-54; John 19: 38-42) on several occasions. There is a notable difference between his first version (Paris, Louvre) of around 1526 which is clearly indebted to Raphael´s painting of that subject (Rome, Galleria Borghese), and his other versions painted between 1559 and 1572. The main differe
The Birth of the Virgin at the Museo del Prado, the only painting on this subject by the hand of Luis de Morales and a work that remained unpublished until 2003, and the two pieces at the Museum Schloss Fasanerie in Eichenzell, The Presentation in the Temple and The Visitation, which are little known in Spain, belong in all probability, as Gabriele Finaldi pointed out, to one and the same set, a j
Religion succoured by Spain (c.1572-75), belongs to the last group of paintings that Titian sent to Philip II in 1576, one year before the artist’s death. As such, it is almost seven decades older than the earliest work by Titian, The Virgin and Child between Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Roch (P288), c.1510. Contemplating the two together allows viewers to recognise and admire Titian’s excepti
Seeing the cadaver of Empress Isabel of Portugal, the wife of Carlos V, has a profound effect on Francisco de Borja, Duke of Gandía, who almost collapses in front of one of his knights. The melodramatic vision with which the painter approaches this work is reinforced by the expressions of the other characters, such as the horrified boy, who may be seeing his first dead person, or the heartb
It was Ballarin who discovered what is probably the Prado´s finest painting by Jacopo, and one of his most impressive late works, hanging in the Sala de Juntas of the Universidad de Barcelona, where it was deposited, having been attributed to a follower of Leandro Bassano. The painting appears to be a monumental refutation of Vasari´s description of Jacopo in the second edition of his Lives (Flore
This panel originally had an arched top and included a more open landscape with less leafy trees. At an unknown date the work must have suffered damage that affected the pictorial surface, resulting in losses to the figure of Saint Anthony and the background. Possibly as a result of this, the surface was restored and some areas repainted. The most recent analyses undertaken by the Prado’s Technica
The adolescent King Sebastian is depicted with all of the customary conventions associated with formal portraits of the Habsburgs. These portraits´ models of authority and power, which perfectly embody the identification of the model and the representation of the monarchy as defender of Christianity, were codified by Titian and Mor in images of Charles V and Philip II. Mor´s stay in Portugal in 15
Christ lies dead on a bed beside which Pope Pius V kneels, surrounded by angels. Above them, two angels hold a chalice and a communion wafer, symbols of his death and resurrection. On the lower part of the painting, the skeleton of Adam alludes to the first man and the redemption of Original Sin. Divers elements of the Passion appear on the bed and floor, such as the Crown of Thorns and the Whip.
With a halo of sainthood over his head, Jesus extends his arm to the centurion who, having converted to the Christian faith, kneels at his feet, as told in the New Testament (Matthew 8, 5-13). The scene takes place in front of an architectural backdrop inspired by the work of the architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The bright colors worn by the figures are brought out by the white of the strong