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On 14 February 1612 Juan Bautista Maíno signed the contract to execute the paintings for the monastery church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo. Maíno agreed to a period of eight months to make the paintings, which had to portray the scenes and episodes specified by the prior of the monastery. Despite the agreement reached in the contract, the paintings were not completed until De
Toward the end of the 17th century, Saint Francis’s iconography expanded as many of the classical biographic themes were replaced with more complex episodes -especially trance visions- mystical ecstasies that reflected the new Baroque esthetic and offered, in the case of Saint Francis, a new approach to the depiction of a figure whose life was being presented by his Order in terms of biographical
This painting entered the Museum`s holdings as a copy of a work by Jan Both, described as Saint Francis in Penitence and listed as the companion piece to Landscape with Saint Francis in Meditation. It was later catalogued as an anonymous work of the Germanic schools and from 1910 onwards as an anonymous Flemish work. However, this landscape can be identified with one of the pictures described in t
This painting entered the Museum as an original work by Jan Both, attribution that has been maintained in the catalogues until the present day. In 1973 Valdivieso identifies it as the picture listed in the 1701 inventory of the Palace of the Buen Retiro and retains the ascription to Jan Both, which is supported by Luna (1984) and Capitelli (2005). Burke (1976) refers to it without an attribution.B
The plaza occupies the center of the image, surrounded by the fortifications and the camp. Amprosio Spínola appears in a carriage alongside a group of riders and footmen in the right foreground. On the left, a cartouche details the different positions in Italian, with indicative letters and numerals. We have detailed knowledge of this crucial moment in the War of Flanders, thanks to Hermann
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
This image of King Charles III was paired with a portrait of his wife, Maria Amalia of Saxony (P2201), although the image of the queen was not painted in her presence. Instead, it was invented on the basis of other likenesses, as she died before the artist was able to paint her.Mengs’s effigie of Charles III became the monarch’s official image and was therefore the object of various replicas. One
Saint Peter Nolasco, founded the order of Our Lady of Mercy, also known as the Mercederians, whose main objective was to rescue Christians held captive by the Muslims. The convent of la Merced Calzada for which this work was painted had been founded by Ferdinand III in 1249 -the year Pedro Nolasco died- but it was entirely reconstructed in the early 17th century. In August 1628, Zurbarán wa
These two paintings (P7804 and P7805) are part of a series on similar subjects, yet they stand out among Giandomenico`s work. These works are small depictions of everyday life in Venice, exquisitely rendered with a very agile touch that reflects the technical skills Giandomenico learnt from his father. This genre work is infrequent in Giandomenico`s oeuvre. In Spain the only known works of this so
The parable of Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) has been interpreted in many ways: an apology of charitable works; a comparison between salvation and perdition, and between gentiles (Lazarus) and Jews (Epulon, the rich man); and the dogs who lick Lazarus´s sores have even been held to be an allusion to the Dominican preachers and their miraculous cures. Aikema has provided examples of sermons and contempo
Described by Lodovico Dolce as a gentleman of great merit and infinite goodness, Daniele Barbaro (1513-1570) was from a noble Venetian family. He was educated to the highest level first in Verona and then at Padua University. A philosopher of neo-Aristotelian leanings, he became friends with important Venetian humanists, some of whom were also portrayed by Titian, such as Pietro Bembo (Washington,
This painting depicts the battle of Fleurus, near Brussels, which pitted troops from the Catholic League commanded by General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba against Protestant Union soldiers led by Count Ernst von Mansfeld and Prince Christian of Brunswick. The Catholic League’s victory on August 29, 1622 freed Brussels—governed at that time by Isabel Clara Eugenia—from the threat pose
An inventory from 1636 describes this striking portrait of the Infante Ferdinand: A half-length portrait, which the Marquis of Leganés brought back, of the Infante Ferdinand in the dress and manner in which His Highness entered Brussels. He has a baton in his right hand. He wears a bright red velvet coat with gold trim, and a scarlet sash embroidered with gold, in which there is a broadswor
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
This work portrays the well-known New Testament parable (Luke, 15: 11-32) illustrating the repentance of the sinner and the virtues of forgiveness. The pretext for the setting is the banquet given by the father to celebrate the return of the son, in which, according to the gospel, a fatted calf was served. The painter chose to recreate the festive nature of the event, ignoring the angry protests o
Helen’s move from Sparta to Troy is described very differently in the two oldest narratives. In the Iliad, Homer describes Helen’s reticence to abandon Menelaeus, suggesting she was kidnapped by Paris. However, in his Ephemeris Belli Troiani (fourth century BC), Dictys Cretensis describes her departure as the willing flight of a woman in love. Both versions are represented in sixteenthcentury Ital
Although in 1660 Boschini mentioned a Self-Portrait of Jacopo Bassano in the Aromatario collection in Venice, the only surviving versions are replicas attributed to Leandro. The Prado work is identical to the one housed at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence (inv. 1.825; at times attributed to Francesco); there is a third known version that is very similar to the first two but of greater iconogr
This depiction of an honest courtesan, presents an iconography of increasing interest to art historians in recent decades. With her curly blond hair, bare forehead and pearl necklace, as well as the breast she so generously offers the viewer, the model recalls a young woman whose mother sought to introduce her into the business of high-level prostitution, as described by Veronica Franco (1546-1591
