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Paolo Domenico Finoglia was deeply involved in the creation of paintings for the History of Rome cycle at the Buen Retiro Palace. His participation includes this superb Triumph of Bacchus, a Gladiators’ Fight (Patrimonio Nacional, Inv. 10022324) and a painting with a very obscure subject traditionally known as Masinissa Mourning Over the Death of Sophonisba (P2280). This final work was even attrib
Falcone painted the figures in this painting; the Neapolitan specialist Luca Forte probably painted the vase of flowers on the left. It looks like a portrait gallery of real people, one of whom -the bearded man on the right- appears in other paintings by Falcone. The painting comes from the collection of the Duke of Medina de las Torres, viceroy of Naples between 1637 and 1644.
This panel is one of the models designed by Rubens for a series of tapestries on the life of the Consul Publius Decius(4th century BC). It offers an extremely eloquent depiction of this Roman hero’s moral example: following a prediction in a dream, he stoically sacrificed his own life in exchange for his people’s final victory over the Latins.
An independent painter since 1515, Pitati trained with Palma Vecchio whose late style he assimilated. This panel dates from his early period (1515-28) and reveals his knowledge of the work of Bellini, Giorgione and Titian. The compositional symmetry and three-part division of the landscape are characteristic of his early output.
This work belongs to a series inspired by passages from Don Quixote portrayed with the same satirical humour as in Cervantes´text. The famous knight, seated at a table, is served by innkeepers in a parody of what would have been a court ceremony. Similarities have been pointed out with paintings of this type executed by the Madrid-based French artist Michel-Ange Houasse (1680-1730).
A domestic scene set in classical antiquity. An old man and a youth recline on divans while an attractive young woman plays music on a double flute. Both the clothing and the setting suggest the Greek world, and the motives and clothing are rigorously faithful to archeological discoveries made in the mid nineteenth century. Despite being Dutch by birth, Sir Lawrence Alma cultivated an eclectic per
This view of Aranjuez Palace was painted in 1756, on the occasion of the celebration of the saint´s day of King Fernando VI (1713-1759). This work was one of a group of views of the Palace and of the celebrations that took place there. Originally, there were probably four, but only this one and View of Aranjuez Palace (P04180, also in the Prado Museum) remain. The moment depicted here is the passa
Peasants or villagers hold a feast in front of a tavern or inn, recognizable by its red flag. They drink, eat and dance to the music of a bagpiper standing on a barrel. On the left, various distinguished personages, who stand out because of their different clothing, look on with a combination of curiosity and indifference. A large church in the background indicates there is a town nearby. On the b
Of the artists who painted war scenes in the 17th century, none was as interested as David Teniers II in capturing images from behind the lines. With his customary tactile rigor, he depicts a plethora of military objects lying in the foreground with no apparent order and a handful of figures hanging cuirasses or helping their colleagues to remove their footgear. At the same time, he draws on one o
A passage from the New Testament (Luke I, 26-38) that tells of the annunciation of the Virgin´s motherhood by the Archangel Gabriel and the incarnation of Christ in Mary by the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. The burning bush, which appeared to A passage from the New Testament (Luke I, 26-38) that tells of the annunciation of the Virgin´s motherhood by the Archangel Gabriel and the incarnation o
The child in the portrait appears to be the Infanta María Isabel (1743-1749), the third daughter of Charles of Bourbon and Maria Amalia of Saxony, whose birth was received with special joy after the death of her two elder siblings. For this reason, she was portrayed on several occasions. She appears here as an heir being crowned by an angelic trumpeter.
The Roman saint Cecilia was martyred for her faith. As the patron saint of music she is normally depicted playing an instrument, crowned with flowers and accompanied by the angel who defended her purity. The pronounced contrasts of light in this scene reveal the influence of Caravaggio that was evident in Grammatica’s work from 1605 onwards.
A sketch for a ceiling at Madrid´s Royal Palace, painted in 1794. Bayeu used grisaille technique: a monochrome depiction in shades of gray and chestnut brown. The Spanish Monarchy is represented by an imposing matron wearing a helmet and surrounded by allegorical figures that constitute a group of considerable iconographic interest for which Bayeu had to conscientiously study the treatises then cu
Jiménez Aranda sets this scene of believers paying penance inside the well-known medieval basilica of Assisi, in Italy. Some of them carry large crosses and drag chains, while others pray at an altar, or chat with other characters dressed in eighteenth-century clothing. The subject clearly alludes to Goya´s abundant paintings of religious festivities. Nevertheless, the setting in an Italian
This painting depicts the baptism of Prince Juan. It is based on the description of that event from Historia de los Reyes Católicos (History of the Catholic Kings) by Andrés Bernáldez, published in 1856. The documentary rigor of this text is transferred to the canvas, so we can speak here of the archeological veracity with which Pradilla reconstructed that historical event. Th
Scattered around the room we see a large drum and pieces of several sets of armour –one of them still on its stand– and pistols and harquebusses hanging on the wall, on which a flag is also draped. In the background, several men, perhaps soldiers in civilian clothes, are smoking and drinking. Abraham Teniers repeats, with few variants, some of the famous compositions of his brother, the famous Dav
Steenwijck brings to the vanitas a genre in which he specialised, according to the surviving inventories -the compositional structure, scheme, colour range and lighting characteristic of the so-called monochrome banketjes or monochrome still lifes of Willem Claesz. Heda (P2754, P2655 and P2756) and Pieter Claesz. (P2753). Accordingly, the objects are arranged on a simple wooden table that is half
A model for the tapestry on the same subject that belongs to a series of eight about the Greek hero. The Story of Achilles is smaller than other projects by Rubens, but the quality of its sketches, models and tapestries make it one of his most important.Thetis entrusted the education of her son Achilles to the boy´s great-grandfather, the wise centaur Chiron, tutor of gods and heroes, who instruct
