Прадо в Эрмитаже (полный каталог)
Я, собственно, ничего подробно писать не хочу, мне бы про Лувр закончить, но выставка очень хорошая, спасибо еще раз, imperceptible_j, за компанию и за все :) Я сначала, когда примерно узнала про то, какие там картины, была немного разочарована, что Прадо не дало ни одного своего безусловного шедевра, а теперь понимаю, что это и правильно. Шедевры можно и в Прадо посмотреть, а на то, что они привезли, времени за короткие визиты, как правило, не хватает. Я была в Прадо 3 раза, а помню из привезенного не больше 5 картин. А они хорошие. Их вообще нужно больше возить по выставкам, странно, что это делают так редко.
Поскольку я не нашла нигде каталога выставки, попытаюсь по памяти собрать репродукции под катом. Сколько вспомню. Дополнения очень приветствуются.
UPD. Погуглив, удалось вспомнить больше :) До чего же у людей разные вкусы :)
1.
Autor: Arellano, Juan de; Título: Cesta de flores; Hacia 1670
A wicker basket with flowers and insects rests on a stone surface.
This rather straightforward composition is typical of Arellano. The pure, intense colors of the flowers contrast with the neutral background and brown tones of the table and basket. The intense lighting that allows these strong contrasts is a habitual technique among artists who cultivated still-life painting.
This work is the companion to Flower Vase P3138), and both were donated to the Prado Museum by the Countess widow of los Moriles in 1969.
2.
Autor: Anguissola, Sofonisba; Título: Felipe II; Hacia 1565
Wearing his customary black clothing and high hat, with the Order of the Golden Fleece on his chest, the Monarch holds a rosary in his left hand, alluding to the institution of the Rosary Festival by Pope Gregory XIII. This festival was to take place annually on the first Sunday of October to commemorate the victory over the Turks at the battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571 and the triumph of Catholic faith.
This portrait was made while Felipe II was married to his third wife, Isabel de Valois. Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the queen's ladies in waiting as well as her painting teacher.
In 1573, Anguissola changed the placement of the King's hand -it previously touched the Golden Fleece- in order to adapt it to the portrait of his fourth wife, Ana de Austria P1284), with which it is paired.
This is one of the paintings removed from the Royal Collection and taken to the Napoleonic Museum in Paris. It entered the Prado Museum in 1827.
3.
Autor: Cano, Alonso; Título: Cristo muerto sostenido por un ángel; 1646 - 1652
The dead body of Christ is barely held up by the efforts of an angel, who turns his imploring gaze heavenward. This is a story profoundly rooted in Western art since the Renaissance and transmitted by Italian artists.
It was probably painted by Cano and was certainly inspired by certain prints related to Michelangelo. The painter takes on a composition that reveals his taste for contention, moderation and balance in one of his favorite subjects: the nude. This allows him to reflect upon the classical ideal of beauty and the canon of proportions.
For Cano, the white body of Christ is an ideal way of exploring human anatomy as a means of expression, especially when contrasted with a dark background. With this darkness, he also creates a sense of calm and mystery appropriate for a meditation on the death of Christ, making this an example of his finest devotional painting.
There are other similar versions with the same subject, one of which is also in the Prado Museum P629).
4.
Autor: Caravaggio; Título: David vencedor de Goliat; Hacia 1600
David leans over the dead body of Goliath in order to tie up his amputated head as a trophy.
This painting shows the final scene off the battle between Philistines and Israelites as told in the Old Testament Samuel 17, 51). David slew Goliath, the giant, using only a stone and a sling, bringing victory to the people of Israel.
Caravaggio portrays David, not as a hero but rather as a young man with a serene aspect who has vanquished Evil thanks to his cleverness and Divine Aid. Only his clenched left fist betrays the tension of the moment.
There has been some controversy as to who painted this work, but nowadays it is unanimously attributed to Caravaggio himself.
5.
Autor: Carnicero, Antonio; Título: Ascensión de un globo Montgolfier en Aranjuez; 1784
Carnicero was a second-rate painter on the Spanish art scene of his time. Here he becomes a chronicler of a singular historic event: the ascent of a Montgolfier balloon by the French pilot, Bouclé.
6.
Autor: Carreño de Miranda, Juan; Título: Pedro Ivanowitz Potemkin, embajador de Rusia; Hacia 1681
A full-length portrait of Peter Ivanovitch Potemkin, the Russian Ambassador sent to the Court of Carlos II by tsar Feodor II in 1668, and between 1681 and 1682, when this work is thought to have been painted.
The composition, with the figure standing out over a black background, emphasizes his sumptuous vestments and underlines his exoticism, allowing us to imagine the impression the Russian embassy must have caused in Spain.
This painting is mentioned in 1686 in the workshop of the chamber painters at Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
7.
Autor: Coello, Claudio; Título: Santo Domingo de Guzmán; Cronología: Hacia 1685
The saint is depicted standing, like an altar stature, with considerable development of the architectural setting. His right hand rests on the shaft of the cross, and he holds a book and lilies in his left. At his feet, a globe of the world, a dog and a lit torch complete the list of customary attributes.
This is the sort of painting commissioned by the Catholic Church in the second half of the seventeenth century: large works with a grandiloquent language intended to have an immediate impact on the faithful. The strong sculptural sense, inherited from some Flemish depictions, and the baroque will to mix reality and fiction through scenography, are the basis for this representation.
It was painted for the church of the Convent of the Rosary in Madrid, along with Saint Rose of Lima Prado Museum, P663), as the two were the protagonists of the side altarpieces. The canvas from the central altarpiece, Saint Dominic receiving the Rosary, is in the Academy of San Fernando.
8.
Autor: Durero, Alberto; Título: Retrato de personaje desconocido; 1521
The as-yet-unidentified sitter wears a large hat and his clothing is complemented by a large fur collar. He holds a roll of paper in his left hand. This is probably a Burgher or an important imperial employee whose importance and high social standing are perfectly captured by Dürer.
In a masterful psychological study, the painter brings out the facial features, emphasizing the severe wince of the lips and the concentrated gaze, which capture his authoritarian, distrustful character. The study of light, the way the bust is brought out over a neutral background, and the reduced space, multiply the sense of contained energy, making this one of Dürer's most intense portraits.
This work is first listed at Madrid's Alcázar Palace in 1666.
9.
Autor: Dyck, Anton van; Título: Hombre con laúd; Cronología: 1622 - 1632
In this more than half-length portrait, a musician is shown in profile with his face turned toward the viewer. He holds a large, long-necked lute or chitarrone and is dressed in black. This, and the dark background insure that only the flesh tones and the white collar and cuffs stand out.
The model has traditionally been identified as Jacob Gaultier, a lutenist at the English Court from 1617 to 1647, but the presence of a sword and the work's stylistic characteristics indicate that it dates from before Van Dyck's trip to London, which casts some doubt on this attribution. The presence of the musical instrument doesn't necessarily indicate that the model was a musician. As a courtly symbol par excellence, music was often alluded to in portraits as an indication of intellectual refinement and distinction.
There is no documentation of this painting before 1734, when it was listed among the paintings that survived the fire at Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
10.
Autor: El Bosco; Título: Extracción de la piedra de locura; Hacia 1490
Inside a circle, Bosch represents an operation to extract the stone of madness, which takes place in a broad landscape. Four persons occupy the scene. The surgeon stands, and the hapless patient sits. An assistant stands beside him while an old woman leans on the pedestal table with a book on her head.
The inscription in gothic lettering that frames the circle translates as: “Master, extract this stone from me soon, my name is Lubbert Das” [This name is sometimes translated as: “Castrated Badger”].
Bosch makes fun of the central character's attempt to cure his madness, which is understood to be stupidity or ignorance, a very common argument in several Flemish proverbs. The doctor's inverted funnel seems to imply that he is the true madman, while the woman with a book on her head, who looks on in amazement, seems to represent the weight of science. The tulip on the table represents the economic cost of the operation, symbolizing the surgeon's profit and casting him as a fraud.
In the sixteenth century, Felipe de Guevara owned a work on this subject, which was sold to Felipe II by his heirs. However, its size and format were different than the present work, which was first mentioned in 1745 in the Duke of Arco's country home, from which it entered the Royal Collection.
11.
Autor: El Greco; Título: Cristo abrazado a la Cruz; Hacia 1602
Caressing the cross, Christ has transcended physical pain on the way to Calvary, raising his gaze to Heaven with a serene gesture. The painter from Crete transforms this narration of the traditional Bible passage into an image of devotion. He makes it into a metaphor of salvation and redemption at a time when the Counter Reformation exalted the cross as one of its most eloquent symbols.
El Greco dealt with this subject on numerous occasions, but the present version stands out for its fluid execution and vibrant rendering.
In 1786 a painting on this subject is mentioned as being in the Convent of Saint Hermenegild in Madrid.
12.
Autor: El Greco; Título: El caballero de la mano en el pecho; Hacia 1580
A portrait of an unidentified person wearing a black suit with lace collar and cuffs and a pendant and sword that indicate he is a gentleman. This is one of the masterpieces of the Spanish Renaissance and the best known of El Greco’s works.
Painted during the artist’s first years in Toledo, Gentleman with his Hand on his Chest is remarkable for the expressive gaze its sitter directs at the viewer, and the naturalness of the hand’s gesture.
There are many hypotheses about the identity of the sitter and the significance of the painting. Some see his gesture as a symbol of repentance, or of a vow and, while there are reasonable doubts, he could be identified as Juan de Silva y Ribera III, Marquis of Montemayor and mayor of the Alcazar of Toledo.
This work comes from the country home of the Duke of Arco in El Pardo Madrid).
13.
Autor: El Greco; Título: La Sagrada Familia con Santa Ana y San Juanito; Hacia 1600
14.
Autor: Giaquinto, Corrado; Título: El nacimiento del Sol y el triunfo de Baco; Cronología: Hacia 1762
The sun god, Apollo, guides his chariot through the center of the composition. Borne by clouds, the goddess, Juno appears. On the ground, Bacchus, the god of wine rides an ass with a crown of grape leaves on his head. This is the moment of his coronation and he is surrounded by nymphs and other members of his retinue. He is accompanied by Diana, the goddess of the hunt, who can be identified by her symbol, the half moon. In the background, Venus, the goddess of beauty, floats over the sea.
This painting, whose composition is based on classical Greco-Latin mythology, is a sketch for the ceiling of the Hall of Columns at Madrid's Royal Palace, which was painted in 1762.
15.
Autor: Giordano, Luca; Título: Mariana de Neoburgo, reina de España, a caballo; Hacia 1694
16.
Autor: Giordano, Luca; Título: Carlos II, rey de España, a caballo; Hacia 1694
17.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: Fernando VII, ante un campamento; 1814
Born in 1784 in El Escorial, Fernando VII was Carlos IV eldest son by Maria Luisa. In 1815, after abolishing the Constitution, he reined as an absolute monarch. He appears wearing the symbols of his royal condition, with a purple, ermine-lined robe, and a scepter with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon in his right hand. The sash of the Order of Carlos III crosses his chest, and he also bears the Golden Fleece.
Some doubts and pentimenti revealed by x-rays indicate changes to the figure, which could suggest that Goya made this portrait in presence of the King, himself, as the facial expression and distrustful gaze -despite the vacuous smile on his lips- are rendered with admirable mastery worthy of a portrait made before a live model.
18.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: La marquesa de Santa Cruz; 1805
Joaquina Téllez-Girón y Pimentel 1784-1851) was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and Marchioness of Santa Cruz by her marriage to José Gabriel de Silva y Walstein in 1801. A friend of poets and literati, she was one of the most admired women of her time. Goya presents her wearing white crêpe and reposing on a canapé upholstered in red velvet. She is crowned with grape leaves and clusters. This headdress and the lire-shaped guitar identify her as Erato, the muse of Love Poetry -a clear reference to her love of poetry and music.
This canvas is in excellent condition and, unlike most, still has its original shine, revealing the stunning perfection of its tonal relations as well as a rich, confident pictorial technique.
It is signed and dated on the lower left corner.
19.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: El general don José de Urrutia; Hacia 1798
Don José de Urrutria y de las Casas 1739-1809), was the only soldier of his day to reach the rank of Field Marshal without being a titled nobleman. He is shown wearing the Cross of Saint George which he received from Catharine of Russia for his actions at the siege of Ozaku Crimea) in 1789. In 1798 he was removed from all public office due to differences with Manuel Godoy.
This portrait is one of the most penetrating psychological studies painted by Goya in his maturity. It was commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and recalls works by Reynolds and other English portrait painters, whose work Goya probably knew through prints. Goya brings out the external symbols of his condition as a sodier -his uniform, decorations, staff and sword- but he also delves into the general's personality and psychology, full of dignity, hardness, decisiveness and a certain reserve.
The work is signed on a stone in the lower right corner.
20.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: La vendimia, o El Otoño; 1786 - 1787
Dressed in yellow clothes that symbolize autumn, a young man sitting on a stone offers a cluster of black grapes to a lady. A boy is eager to reach the offered fruit, which is reserved for the adults. A woman stands next to them, holding a grape basket on her head, much like the classical allegory of the goddess Ceres with fruit on her head. Some grape harvesters are behind them, next to the grapevine that leads to a valley crowned with the suggestion of mountains in the background.
Here, following Western painting's traditional iconography, the grape harvest is an allegory of autumn. This is one of the most beautiful and best-known compositions from all of Goya's cartoon series. It's pyramidal structure, and the figures that recall ancient statuary, define the artist's study of the classical artistic tradition.
This cartoon was for one of the tapestries intended for the Prince of Asturias' dining room at the El Pardo Palace.
21.
Autor: Guercino; Título: Magdalena penitente; 1645 - 1649
22.
Autor: Hamen y León, Juan van der; Título: Retrato de enano; Hacia 1626
A sumptuously dressed and armed dwarf holds a ruler's staff, an attribute of power that cannot have corresponded to his status. He was probably one of the court buffoons, who were showered with presents and dressed in ostentatious luxury. Since the sixteenth century, portraits of these figures were quite customary, although it was Velasquez who explored this genre with singular mastery. The date generally attributed to this extraordinary portrait indicates that the model might be Bartolillo, a dwarf whose presence in the Palace is documented between 1621 and 1626.
Juan van der Hamen was best known for his excellent still lifes, although he also made religious paintings and portraits of high quality, like the present one. Notable here, besides the marked detail and tenebrist lighting, is the expressive strength of the protagonist, who is portrayed with enormous dignity and an expression that is practically defiant.
23.
Autor: Joli, Antonio; Título: Partida de Carlos de Borbón a España, vista desde el mar; 1759
A depiction of the port of Naples on 6 October 1759, when Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) left for Spain, where he would reign under the name of Carlos III. son of Felipe V (1683-1746) and Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1776), Carlos was king of Naples and Sicily until his brother, Fernando VI (1713-1759) died without issue, obliging Carlos to return to Spain.
The scene shows the fleet led by the Marquis of La Victoria with the port of Naples in the background.
There are four known autograph versions of this work, one of which disappeared in the fire at the Spanish Embasy in Lisbon in 1975. It is paired with Carlos III Embarking in the Port of Naples (P232).
24.
Autor: Jordaens, Jacob; Título: Meleagro y Atalanta; 1620 - 1650
After killing the wild boar that was ravaging the kingdom of Calydon, Meleager offered its head to Atalanta, of whom he was enamored. But the hunter's uncles considered themselves the rightful recipients of that trophy. They took it from her, provoking such rage in Meleagrus that he killed them.
Jordaens places the figure in the foreground like a long running frieze. In the group on the right, Meleager's hand moves to his sword, ready to begin the attack on his own uncles, while Atalanta, with an expression of fear, tries to stop him.
On the left, the group of hunters marks the composition's rhythm. Their weapons, an arm and the movement of their dogs draw the viewer's gaze toward the main event. The two parts of the painting were made separately. First, Jordaens painted the group on the right, and their characteristics belong to his youth, when his works were dominated by forceful and monumental figures in the manner of Rubens 1577-1640). The figures on the left were painted on a piece of canvas that was added to the other group and belong to the artist's late style.
This painting is not documented until 1746, when it was at the La Granja Palace.
25.
Autor: La Tour, Georges de; Título: Ciego tocando la zanfonía; 1610 - 1630
La Tour depicts an old, blind street musician playing a hurdy-gurdy, which is a subject he repeated on various occasions. Active in Lorraine Eastern France) and influenced by Caravaggio, this artist took pleasure in recreating details such as the ribbon adorning the instrument, the old man's hair and his wrinkled face. This is a fragment of a larger composition.
26.
Autor: Loo, Louis Michel van; Título: Felipe V, rey de España; Cronología: Hacia 1739
27.
Author: Lorraine, Claude French); Title Пейзаж с отшельником по загадочной причине его нет в online каталоге Прадо; Chronology 1636-1638
28.
Autor: López Portaña, Vicente; Título: Félix Antonio Máximo López, primer organista de la Real Capilla; Cronología 1820
This portrait of Félix Antonio Máximo Portaña 1742 - 1821), the first organist of the Royal Chapel and a notable musician and composer, was commissioned by his eldest son, Ambrosio López.
A formal work that emphasizes the sitter's category through a series of details, especially the red and blue uniform of his job at the palace, the braid on the cuffs of his dress coat that indicate his status in the Royal Household, and the orchestra director's baton he bears on his right arm.
The affected and polished technique employed here is characteristic of López and is complemented by the lighting. Rather than being frontal, as was customary, it comes from above, giving the sitter a romantic, melancholy and spiritual air.
Unlike what customarily happened in works by other painters, the score the organist holds is perfectly recognizable here. It bears the first new chords of a piece called “Obra de los locos/Primera parte/All[egr]o Mo[dera]to”.
This work was purchased from Pablo Bosch for the Prado Museum by Royal Order of 20 June 1879.
29.
Autor: Madrazo y Agudo, José de; Título: El Amor divino y el Amor profano; 1813
A young male spirit symbolizing Virtue sits at the foot of an oak tree wearing a laurel crown. He looks to the heavens offering the crown he obtained after his victory over Earthly Love. Conquered and stripped of his weapons -they lie on the ground- the latter is tied to a tree.
Madrazo made this work during his stay in Rome, influenced by a subject with clear antecedents in Renaissance painting and in seventeenth-century Bolognese classicism. In that same esthetic line, the pictorial treatment is related to the neoclassical language of Mengs, a return to the manner of his first training as a youth. This manner is characterized by rigorous modeling and light sfumato treatment of the shapes. The meticulous and descriptive technique with which he renders the elements depicted therein also offers an idea of the painterly qualities attained by Madrazo when he made this work.
By 1828, it was already in the inventory of Fernando VII's paintings that was the basis for the incipient Prado Museum.
30.
Autor: Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista; Título: Adoración de los pastores; 1612 - 1614
This religious painting follows the Baroque principles of credibility and immediacy that bring miracles closer to society by giving them an everyday appearance. The elongated format, as well as the high vanishing point, are determined by the placement of this painting at the bottom of the left side of an altarpiece. They thus facilitate the continuation of real space into the false space of the painting, whose three-dimensional appearance accentuates the scorzo of the shepherds and animals in the foreground.
Maíno painted this work shortly after returning from Italy. It is his colorist interpretation, in the manner of Orazio Gentileschi, of Caravaggio's work, using directed light, popular models and still-life elements in the foreground.
Along with the Adoration of the Magi P00886), this work was painted for the main altarpiece of the church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo.
31.
Autor: Martínez del Mazo, Juan Bautista; Título: La emperatriz Margarita de Austria; 1666
A court portrait of the Infanta Margarita 1651-1731) at the age of fifteen. She was the daughter of Felipe IV 1605-1665) and Mariana de Austria 1634-1696) and the future wife of Emperor Leopold of Austria 1640-1705).
The Infanta, who is also the central figure in Diego Velasquez's Las Meninas P1174), poses in front of a velvet curtain wearing a sumptuous dress with pink and silver embroidery. She holds a handkerchief in her right hand and a rose in her left.
There has been considerable argument about who painted this work, whether it is by Diego Velasquez, de la Mazo, or perhaps a combination of both. It is currently considered one of Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo's masterpieces, and its extraordinary quality is proof of this painter's mastery.
32.
Autor: Meléndez, Luis Egidio; Título: Bodegón: un trozo de salmón, un limón y tres vasijas; 1772
This superb example of the artist's virtuosity at capturing elements with a direct and realistic language can be considered a work from late in his career. A sole lemon in the foreground offsets the group of elements consisting of a slice of fresh salmon and various cooking utensils, including a copper vessel, a pot of the same material and an Alcorcón style jug with a bit of crockery as a lid. A handle in the background might belong to a ladle. The surface on which these items sit disappears into the background. Its edge is emphasized by a spoon with a very long handle.
33.
Autor: Meléndez, Luis Egidio; Título: Bodegón con caja de jalea, rosca de pan, enfriador con botella, salvilla de plata y vaso; 1770
The canvas describes a chocolate service with its copper chocolate pot, high, vertical stirring stick and long horizontal handle. In front, a large plate has a cup, a bun and some cakes, one of which rests directly on the table. In the foreground, some chocolate medallions spill out of their paper wrapping.
This work is exceptional in its depiction of objects of valuable porcelain, such as the cup, which may be Oriental, from the Compañía de Indias. This was in keeping with the high status of chocolate at that time when, more than a drink, it was a social event.
34.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: Carlos III; Hacia 1761
Born to Felipe V 1683-1746) and Isabel de Farnesio 1692-1766), Carlos III occupied the throne of Naples under the name Carlos VII between 1738 and 1759, when he became king of Spain. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, as well as the development of the arts and ideas associated with the Enlightenment.
He wears sumptuous military dress clothing, with the necklaces of the Golden Fleece, Saint Esprit and San Genaro on his chest. The portrait is completed with various elements alluding to his majesty as a monarch: the rulers staff in his right hand, and his royal ermine-lined robes, with castles, lions and fleurs de lis as heraldic symbols, on the table.
With this painting, Mengs configured the official image of the King of Spain, and numerous copies were mande. It is paired with the portrait of Mary Amalia of Saxony P2201), and both were painted shortly after the artist arrived in Spain.
35.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: María Luisa de Parma, princesa de Asturias; Cronología Hacia 1765
This pendant to Carlos IV, Prince of Asturias P2189) was probably painted in 1765 on the occasion of their engagement to be married. María Luisa was born to Felipe de Bourbon, Duke of Parma, and Louise Isabelle of France, in Parma in 1715 and died in Rome in 1819, seventeen days before her husband. The future Queen is depicted in a garden, wearing an elegant white dress. The insignia of the Order of la Cruz Estrellada hangs from its wide neckline. Her fine diamond headdress is accompanied by similar earrings and a short necklace. She holds two carnations in her right hand and a fan in her left, with a miniature portrait on her bracelet.
Her elegant, refined air reflect the courtly spirit of the Ancien Régime.
36.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: Carlos IV, príncipe de Asturias; Hacia 1765
Carlos IV was portrayed by Mengs when he was still Prince of Asturias. In this three-quarters representation that reaches his knees, he wears a grey frock coat and high black boots. He carries a shotgun in his left hand and is accompanied by a hunting dog. He bears sashes of the Orders of Saint-Esprit and San Genaro, as well as the insignia of the Golden Fleece.
37.
Autor: Moro, Antonio; Título: Pejerón, bufón del conde de Benavente y del gran duque de Alba; Hacia 1560
The work is listed in the 1600 inventory of Madrid's Alcazar Palace as “Pejerón, the madman of the Count of Benavente, with white stockings and jerkin and a deck of cards in his right hand.” It was kept in the Treasury.
Mor probably made this work during his last visit to Spain in 1559. The jester appears full-length, standing, with a dark background and no spatial references. As he occupies all available space in the foreground, it is difficult to know his true height. He is sumptuously dressed in courtly clothing, and only his large head, short legs and deformed hand -the cards it holds symbolize leisure- bear witness to his condition and occupation, “the art of jest.”
38.
Autor: Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban; Título: La Virgen del Rosario; 1650 - 1655
39.
Autor: Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban; Título: El Buen Pastor; Cronología Hacia 1660
40.
Autor: Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan; Título: La reina Isabel de Valois, tercera esposa de Felipe II; Hacia 1605
A full-length portrait of Isabel de Valois 1546-1568). Daughter of Henri II of France 1519-1559) and Catharine of Medici 1519-1589), she was Felipe II's 1556-1598) third wife, and the mother of the infantas Catalina Micaela and Isabel Clara Eugenia.
While there has been much discussion about who may have painted this work, it is now accepted as a probable copy by Pantoja of an original by Sánchez Coello or Sofonisba Anguissola. The composition follows the norms for Court portraits established by Titian and Antonio Moro, with the queen standing up, sumptuously dressed, and leaning on an object. In this case, it is a column that symbolizes the dynasty, as well as a medallion with an image of her husband.
41.
Autor: Paret y Alcázar, Luis; Título: María de las Nieves Micaela Fourdinier, esposa del pintor; Cronología 1782 - 1785
The painter's wife is shown with a luxurious dress and a complicated hairdo that includes a small bouquet of flowers similar to the floral paintings this artist made some years before P1042 and P1043). She sits on a chair, in three-quarters and holding a music box, and her appearance evokes a melancholy atmosphere. This sensation of distance is reinforced by the fact that we see her through a window frame adorned with rose tendrils -symbolizing love- and a Greek inscription. All of this frames the figure in a sort of trompe l'oeuil. Paret masterfully unfolds a variety of different manners of painting to distinguish between the softness of his wife's hair -with extremely fine brushstrokes- and the rigidity of her white satin dress, capturing its highlights with expressive touches.
42.
Autor: Pereda y Salgado, Antonio de; Título: San Jerónimo; 1643
Saint Jerome is depicted meditating on the Last Judgment, as indicated by the print in the book, which reproduces a model by Albrecht Dürer. He is surrounded by various vanitas, such as the skull resting on some books and the stone with which he struck his chest. A pen and inkwell indicate his dedication to writing. Jerome was one of the most popular Saints in baroque Spain. His iconography made it possible to insist on one of the favorite themes of the Counter Reformation's ideology: the doctrine of repentance and penance.
The work is based on images by José Ribera, and reflects the tight and detailed technique of one part of the painter's production.
It is signed and dated on the stone in the lower left corner.
43.
Autor: Poussin, Nicolas; Título: Santa Cecilia; Hacia 1635
The virgin and martyr, Saint Cecile, has been venerated since Christian Antiquity. Since the sixteenth century, she has been considered the patron saint of music because, according to legend, while musicians played at her wedding, her heart sang only for God after she took her vow of chastity.
The saint is usually depicted with a musical instrument, or at the moment of her martyrdom, when an executioner unsuccessfully tried to decapitate her.
The technique, composition and color of this work reflect the Venetian painting's influence on Poussin's work. This painting was previously attributed to one of his collaborators, the French painter, Charles Mellin 1597-1649).
44.
Autor: Rafael; Título: Sagrada Familia del Cordero; 1507
The Virgin Mary helps the Christ Child to mount a lamb. Leaning on his staff, Saint Joseph looks on. The scene is set in an idyllic landscape with a church, a castle tower and some houses in the background. In Christian symbolism, the Lamb refers to Christ's Passion.
The three years Raphael spent in Florence allowed him to deepen his knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci's artworks, which he absorbed and interpreted in a personal way. The present work is an example of this, as it is inspired by Leonardo's drawing for the main altarpiece of the church of Santa Annunziata in Florence. But the relations between the characters and the dynamism of their gestures and gazes, which interrelates them, is the unquestionable mark of Raphael in the context of a classical style of serene beauty.
A preparatory drawing by Raphael for this painting is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The present work entered the Royal Collection in the late eighteenth century, when Carlos IV 1748-1819) bought it from the Falconieri Collection in Rome. After hanging in the Monastery of El Escorial, it entered the Prado Museum in 1837.
45.
Autor: Ranc, Jean; Título: Carlos de Borbón y Farnesio, niño futuro Carlos III de España); Hacia 1724
46.
Autor: Reni, Guido; Título: La Asunción y Coronación de la Virgen; 1602 - 1603
47.
Autor: Ribera, José de; Título: Isaac y Jacob; 1637
This work captures the moment when Jacob, his arm covered in a kid skin, pretends to be his hairy brother Esau in order to receive the blessings of his aged and blind father, Isaac. Behind them is Rebecca, who has planned this trickery, while the true Esau is in the background.
This story from Genesis is used by Ribera to compose a narrative of trickery and ambition, and he offers a lesson in mastering gestures and body expressions. Under this literal narration lies the symbolic content, which makes the work an allegory of the five senses touch, vision, hearing, smell and taste), represented by the protagonist's acts and the splendid still life on the table in the lower right corner of the painting, which alludes to taste.
One of Ribera's most ambitious works, it is also the one that best reveals his gift for pictorial narration. It was probably intended to hang over a door or window and its presence in Madrid's Alcázar Palace was documented in 1700. It remained in the Royal Collection until it entered the Prado, although it was at the Academy of San Fernando between 1816 and 1818.
The work is signed and dated on the lower right corner.
48.
Autor: Ribera, José de; Título: San Roque; 1631
49.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: Felipe II a caballo; Hacia 1630
A posthumous portrait of Felipe II wearing full body armor, a cape and a hat and riding a horse. Victory crowns him with laurels. The background alludes to a battle, probably that of San Quentín in 1557.
Inspired by the knightly ideas of the sixteenth century, this portrait is based on representations of Roman emperors that circulated on Flemish and Italian prints, as well as an image of Carlos V, Felipe II's father, who appears in one of the tapestries from the series The Conquest of Tunisia, designed by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Ca. 1500-1559).
This work was made in 1628 during the artist's second visit to Spain. Rubens used objects from the Royal Armory, including the armor and sword, which are the same ones used by Titian for his portrait of the same monarch P411).
This work is listed in Madrid's Alcázar Palace in all the royal inventories since 1686. A strip at the top is an addition that was painted following the fire at that palace in 1734.
50.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: María de Medici, reina madre de Francia; Hacia 1622
Dressed completely in black, with a widow's headdress and simple jewelry, Marie de Medici is portrayed as the Queen Mother, after having governed France as a Reagent from 1610 to 1617.
As one of Rubens' most outstanding patrons, the queen commissioned him to decorate her Luxemburg Palace in Paris with a series of works that glorified her figure and that of her husband, Henri IV. Rubens began the present work with that end in mind, but it was left unfinished, as can be seen in the sketchy background.
This painting belonged to the artist until his death, and was later acquired by Felipe IV.
51.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: Perseo liberando a Andrómeda; 1639 - 1641
As punishment for the vanity of Cassiopeia, who thought herself more beautiful than the Neriads, Poseidon, god of the seas, sent a monster to the kingdom of Ethiopia. Its fury could only be detained if it received Cassiopeia's daughter, Andromeda.
This painting illustrates the moment when Perseus frees Andromeda from her bounds. He is in love with her, as is made clear by the presence of Cupid with his quiver, and later makes her his wife. Hymen, goddess of marriage, announces this engagement with her customary torch. In the background, Rubens depicts Pegasus, Perseus' steed, alongside the slain monster.
This work was commissioned by Felipe IV for the New Hall at Madrid's Alcázar Palace, as an political allegory of the power of the Spanish Monarchy. The hero, with armor that was modern in the sixteenth century, a helmet and a shield with Medusa's head, was thus a metaphor of the King himself, and of his dominion over evil.
This is one of the last paintings Rubens took on. After his death in 1640, it was finished by Jacob Jordaens.
52.
Autor: Sánchez Cotán, Juan; Título: Bodegón de caza, hortalizas y frutas; 1602
This still life shows the inside of a cupboard. On the shelf are a group of birds consisting of two serins, two goldfinches and two sparrows on a cane, as well as three carrots, two radishes, and a large white thistle that closes the composition. Hanging from the upper sill are three lemons, seven apples, a goldfinch, a sparrow and two red partridges.
The composition is outstanding for its sobriety, intimacy and intensity. Those characteristics are emphasized by the lateral light that produces large shadows, creating a perfect and fully realistic illusion characteristic of still lifes painted by Cotán, which became the prototypes of Spanish still lifes.
This work was painted for Juan de Salazar, a minaturist at El Escorial and the executor or Sánchez Cotán's will. It belonged to the infante Sebastián Gabriel 1811-1875), from whom it was confiscated in 1835. It then entered the Trinity Museum but was returned to the infante's heirs some years later, remaining with them until 1991, when it was acquired by the Prado Museum with funds from the Villaescusa legacy and profits from the Velázquez exhibition 1991).
53.
Author: Sánchez Coello, Alonso; Title: The Infantas Isabel Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela; Ca. 1575
A court portrait of the infantas Isabel Clara Eugenia (1566-1633) and Catalina Micaela (1567-1597), who where the daughters of Felipe II (1556-1598) by his third wife, Isabel de Valois (1546-1568).
The girls are dressed as adults and shown at a distance. In keeping with the protocol of their relative ages, Isabel Clara Eugenia is closer to the viewer, in a painting that is halfway between official and private. This type of portraits exhibited the Monarch's dynastic continuity and simultaneously served as mementos of distant family members.
54.
Autor: Tiepolo, Giambattista; Título: Abraham y los tres ángeles; Hacia 1770
According to the Old Testament, the patriarch Abraham and his wife, Sarah, took in three pilgrims who came to their house in Mamre. They generously washed and fed them. As thanks, the visitors revealed that they were three angels sent by God to announce to the old couple the miracle of the upcoming birth of their son Isaac), which would be the origin of the people of Israel Genesis 18, 1-19).
Tiepolo depicts the moment when the angels appear as they really are to the patriarch, who falls to his knees at the sight, his hands clasped in prayer. A pilgrim's gourd and red staff appear in the lower right corner. A basket in the lower left corner holds the food to be shared.
This work belongs to the painter's Spanish period and is characterized by its daring composition, moving figures and contrasting colors.
It is not known what church this work was painted for.
55.
Autor: Tintoretto, Domenico; Título: La dama que descubre el seno; Siglo XVI
A depiction of a Venetian courtesan, probably the famous Veronica Franco 1546-1591). By playing with the model's gaze and clothing, the painter offers the viewer a subtly erotic game in which insinuation prevails over exhibition, so that the view of her breast is countered by her face in profile, giving her an air of mystery.
While originally attributed to Jacopo Tintoretto, this work is closer to that of his son, Domenico, who differed from his father in his greater emphasis on drawing and on the figures finish.
56.
Autor: Tintoretto, Jacopo Robusti; Título: El caballero de la cadena de oro; Hacia 1555
Tintoretto painted portraits from the beginning of his career, and it was the genre that allowed him to make a place for himself on the competitive Venetian art scene. Unlike Titian, with his elegant distance, Tintoretto rarely idealized his sitters, showing them with the attributes of their social standing, but without hiding the wrinkles on their faces.
For four decades, Tintoretto remained faithful to a few models and formulas. One of the distinctive traits of his portraiture technique is the importance he assigned to the face, which he shaped with brilliant highlights that make it stand out over the dark background.
This is the finest of the Tintoretto portraits at the Prado Museum and one of the most outstanding ever painted by that artist. It is probably one of the ones which, according to Palomino, Velasquez acquired in Venice during his second trip to Italy.
57.
Autor: Tiziano, Vecellio di Gregorio; Título: Carlos V con un perro; 1533
This, the first full-length portrait painted by Titian, represents Emperor Carlos V 1500-1558) with a dog, perhaps the one called Sampere.
This work was painted during the artist's second meeting with the Emperor, which took place in Bologna between 13 December 1532 and 28 February, 1533. It is a variation on an original painting by the German artist, Jacob Seisseneger, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna. Titian surpassed the earlier work, managing to give the Emperor a new aristocratic bearing by depicting him as more slender.
This painting was first mentioned in Spain in the 1600 inventory of valuables at Madrid's Alcázar Palace. Felipe IV 1605-1665) later gave it to Charles I of England, but it was later purchased at the auction of his belongings and returned to Spain. It entered the Prado Museum in 1821.
58.
Autor: Tiziano, Vecellio di Gregorio; Título: Venus recreándose con el Amor y la Música; Hacia 1555
Accompanied by a dog and reclining on a bed in front of a window through which the gardens of a villa are visible, Venus listens to the music played by an organist.
There are five known works by Titian on the subject of Venus and Music, and all follow the same model, though the organist is sometimes a lutenist and the dog is sometimes Cupid Prado Museum, Staatliche Museum of Berlin, Metropolitan Museum of New York and Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge).
These paintings have been interpreted in a variety of manners. Some historians see them as simple erotic scenes, while others consider them neo-platonic allegories of the senses, in which vision and hearing are instruments for knowing beauty and harmony.
This work, probably the first of the series, belonged to the legal expert, Francesco Assonica. It differs from the others in the individualization of both figures' facial features, giving it the appearance of a portrait. It was later acquired by Charles I of England. When the latter's possessions were auctioned, it was purchased by Luis Méndez de Haro for the collection of Felipe IV 1605-1665). It entered the Prado Museum collection in 1827 and is listed for the first time in Spain in the 1626 inventory of Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
59.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: Felipe IV; Hacia 1653
This bust portrait of Felipe IV on a dark background shows him wearing black clothing and a white ruff collar, which brings out the monarch's face.
Velasquez eschews the ostentation present in other portraits of the kings and offers a very close image, reflecting the king's most human condition without courtly artifice. The meticulous rendering of the facial features and the summary depiction of the suit stand out in this portrait that reveals Velasquez's capacity to capture the sitter's state of mind: the fatigue and melancholy of the last years of Felipe IV's reign.
It appeared in the collection of the Duke of el Arco in 1745 and became a part of the Royal Collection at that time.
60.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: Mariana de Austria, reina de España; Hacia 1652The daughter of Emperor Fernando III and Maria de Austria -Felipe IV's sister- was born in Neustad in 1634. She was supposed to marry her cousin, Prince baltasar Carlos. Two years after the latter died in 1646, she married her uncle, Felipe IV, despite the considerable age difference. As mother of the future Carlos II, she was a Reagent between 1664 and 1675, dying at the age of sixty-two.
Painted after Velasquez's second trip to Rome 1649-1651), this court portrait is characterized by a wise compositional conjunction that emphasizes elements symbolizing dignity and prudence as the qualities of majesty; and a loose and vibrant painting technique. It was enlarged with an added section in the upper part.
61.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: El bufón don Diego de Acedo, "el Primo"; Hacia 1644
Don Diego de Acedo, a servant in the palace beginning in 1635, combined his work as a buffoon -if, in fact he was one, as tradition would have it- with other jobs, such as royal courier and Royal Seal Officer. His responsibility for the seal with the royal signature explains the presence of the folio he holds, and the writing materials on the floor.
The nickname, “el Primo” (“The Cousin”) may be derived from the fact that that is how the King addressed Grandees, who had the privilege of leaving their hats on in his presence, just as the buffoon is in this portrait. If that is the case, it would mean that the nickname was intended to make fun of his pretended grandeur, although it has also been suggested that he was a relative of the painter.
The portrait's background is unfinished and clearly shows a series of vertical brushstrokes that are the result of cleaning the brush directly on the canvas.
Although there is evidence that Velasquez painted a portrait of Don Diego in 1644 during the Royal sojourn in Aragon, it is not certain that this is the same work. It was in the Alcázar Palace in Madrid during the seventeenth century and was then moved to the Torre de la Parada, in El Pardo, and finally to the Royal Palace. From there, it entered the Prado Museum in 1819.
62.
Autor: Veronese, Paolo; Título: Magdalena penitente; 1583
This late work by Veronese reflects the transformations experienced by Venitian religious painting around 1575, when they were subject to control by the Inquisition. Veronese adapted his style to meet these demands, and in his late works we can see a progressive simplification of the compositions, a darkening palette of colors, and the use of a sketchier brushstroe. The result is images of concentrated emotion, stripped of details that could distract the faithful.
This work was acquired by Luis de Haro upon the death of Charles I of England. In Spain it first appeared in the inventory of Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1766) at the La Granja Palace in 1746, where it remained until 1814.
63.
Autor: Watteau, Jean Antoine; Título: Fiesta en un parque; 1712 - 1713
This work is typical of Watteau's “Fêtes Galantes,” small scenes for the beginning of the Rococo that represent agreeable parites in the midst of trees and exuberant nature, filled with exquisite sensuality, delicacy and lyricism. In these pieces, Watteau offers a scrupulous study of the society of that moment, including a few unavoidable touches of cynicism that came from the knowledge of theater set design he gained at the Commedia dell' Arte.
Here, he presents a series of couples and groups of people in a clearing in the woods, with fountains dedicated to Neptune, the god of the seas, and Ceres, goddess of fecundity and marriage. This is a clear example of his technique, with rapid and savory brushstrokes and a very sensitive use of light. These characteristics are drawn from the Baroque paintings of Peter Paul Rubens and from Venetian painting.
This work was listed in the 1746 inventory of Queen Isabel de Farnesio's (1692-1766) collection at the Palace of la Granja de San Ildefonso, and in 1794 at Aranjuez Palace. In 1814, it was at Madrid's Royal Palace.
64.
Autor: Weyden, Roger van der; Título: La Piedad; Hacia 1450
Before 1444, the Master from Tornai created a prototype for the Pietà with his Miraflores Triptych. His masterful manifestation of Mary's pain makes this image appropriate for satisfying the devotional needs of a broad clientele. That explains why Weyden and his workshop made so many versions, with variations that include who accompanies the Virgin and her Son.
In this version, which was cut down to a lobed shape at an unknown dated, the Virgin and her Son are accompanied by the figures of Saint John and a member of the Broers family, who donated money for the painting and occupies the same space as the holy figures. Both the presence of the donor and the crown of thorns advise the faithful as to the meditative purpose of this image.
65.
Autor: Zurbarán, Francisco de; Título: Agnus Dei; 1635 - 1640
This votive image was wide-spread in seventeenth-century Spain. It represents an Agnus Dei or “Lamb of God,” in allusion to Christ's sacrificial death to save humanity. The straightforward composition consists exclusively of an image of the young animal with its legs bound, lying on a windowsill and brightly light by a single light source.
66.
Autor: Zurbarán, Francisco de; Título: Cristo crucificado con donante; 1640
The image of Christ crucified appears alongside the sponsor of this work, on a neutral background.
Notable is the almost sculptural appearance of Christ, who wears the Crown of thorns and a loincloth, on which Zurbarán displays his technical prowess in handling the range of whites. The strongly contrasted light on both the sponsor's face and the body of Christ add depth to the composition and link its technique to tenebrism.
Поскольку я не нашла нигде каталога выставки, попытаюсь по памяти собрать репродукции под катом. Сколько вспомню. Дополнения очень приветствуются.
UPD. Погуглив, удалось вспомнить больше :) До чего же у людей разные вкусы :)
1.
Autor: Arellano, Juan de; Título: Cesta de flores; Hacia 1670
A wicker basket with flowers and insects rests on a stone surface.
This rather straightforward composition is typical of Arellano. The pure, intense colors of the flowers contrast with the neutral background and brown tones of the table and basket. The intense lighting that allows these strong contrasts is a habitual technique among artists who cultivated still-life painting.
This work is the companion to Flower Vase P3138), and both were donated to the Prado Museum by the Countess widow of los Moriles in 1969.
2.
Autor: Anguissola, Sofonisba; Título: Felipe II; Hacia 1565
Wearing his customary black clothing and high hat, with the Order of the Golden Fleece on his chest, the Monarch holds a rosary in his left hand, alluding to the institution of the Rosary Festival by Pope Gregory XIII. This festival was to take place annually on the first Sunday of October to commemorate the victory over the Turks at the battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571 and the triumph of Catholic faith.
This portrait was made while Felipe II was married to his third wife, Isabel de Valois. Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the queen's ladies in waiting as well as her painting teacher.
In 1573, Anguissola changed the placement of the King's hand -it previously touched the Golden Fleece- in order to adapt it to the portrait of his fourth wife, Ana de Austria P1284), with which it is paired.
This is one of the paintings removed from the Royal Collection and taken to the Napoleonic Museum in Paris. It entered the Prado Museum in 1827.
3.
Autor: Cano, Alonso; Título: Cristo muerto sostenido por un ángel; 1646 - 1652
The dead body of Christ is barely held up by the efforts of an angel, who turns his imploring gaze heavenward. This is a story profoundly rooted in Western art since the Renaissance and transmitted by Italian artists.
It was probably painted by Cano and was certainly inspired by certain prints related to Michelangelo. The painter takes on a composition that reveals his taste for contention, moderation and balance in one of his favorite subjects: the nude. This allows him to reflect upon the classical ideal of beauty and the canon of proportions.
For Cano, the white body of Christ is an ideal way of exploring human anatomy as a means of expression, especially when contrasted with a dark background. With this darkness, he also creates a sense of calm and mystery appropriate for a meditation on the death of Christ, making this an example of his finest devotional painting.
There are other similar versions with the same subject, one of which is also in the Prado Museum P629).
4.
Autor: Caravaggio; Título: David vencedor de Goliat; Hacia 1600
David leans over the dead body of Goliath in order to tie up his amputated head as a trophy.
This painting shows the final scene off the battle between Philistines and Israelites as told in the Old Testament Samuel 17, 51). David slew Goliath, the giant, using only a stone and a sling, bringing victory to the people of Israel.
Caravaggio portrays David, not as a hero but rather as a young man with a serene aspect who has vanquished Evil thanks to his cleverness and Divine Aid. Only his clenched left fist betrays the tension of the moment.
There has been some controversy as to who painted this work, but nowadays it is unanimously attributed to Caravaggio himself.
5.
Autor: Carnicero, Antonio; Título: Ascensión de un globo Montgolfier en Aranjuez; 1784
Carnicero was a second-rate painter on the Spanish art scene of his time. Here he becomes a chronicler of a singular historic event: the ascent of a Montgolfier balloon by the French pilot, Bouclé.
6.
Autor: Carreño de Miranda, Juan; Título: Pedro Ivanowitz Potemkin, embajador de Rusia; Hacia 1681
A full-length portrait of Peter Ivanovitch Potemkin, the Russian Ambassador sent to the Court of Carlos II by tsar Feodor II in 1668, and between 1681 and 1682, when this work is thought to have been painted.
The composition, with the figure standing out over a black background, emphasizes his sumptuous vestments and underlines his exoticism, allowing us to imagine the impression the Russian embassy must have caused in Spain.
This painting is mentioned in 1686 in the workshop of the chamber painters at Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
7.
Autor: Coello, Claudio; Título: Santo Domingo de Guzmán; Cronología: Hacia 1685
The saint is depicted standing, like an altar stature, with considerable development of the architectural setting. His right hand rests on the shaft of the cross, and he holds a book and lilies in his left. At his feet, a globe of the world, a dog and a lit torch complete the list of customary attributes.
This is the sort of painting commissioned by the Catholic Church in the second half of the seventeenth century: large works with a grandiloquent language intended to have an immediate impact on the faithful. The strong sculptural sense, inherited from some Flemish depictions, and the baroque will to mix reality and fiction through scenography, are the basis for this representation.
It was painted for the church of the Convent of the Rosary in Madrid, along with Saint Rose of Lima Prado Museum, P663), as the two were the protagonists of the side altarpieces. The canvas from the central altarpiece, Saint Dominic receiving the Rosary, is in the Academy of San Fernando.
8.
Autor: Durero, Alberto; Título: Retrato de personaje desconocido; 1521
The as-yet-unidentified sitter wears a large hat and his clothing is complemented by a large fur collar. He holds a roll of paper in his left hand. This is probably a Burgher or an important imperial employee whose importance and high social standing are perfectly captured by Dürer.
In a masterful psychological study, the painter brings out the facial features, emphasizing the severe wince of the lips and the concentrated gaze, which capture his authoritarian, distrustful character. The study of light, the way the bust is brought out over a neutral background, and the reduced space, multiply the sense of contained energy, making this one of Dürer's most intense portraits.
This work is first listed at Madrid's Alcázar Palace in 1666.
9.
Autor: Dyck, Anton van; Título: Hombre con laúd; Cronología: 1622 - 1632
In this more than half-length portrait, a musician is shown in profile with his face turned toward the viewer. He holds a large, long-necked lute or chitarrone and is dressed in black. This, and the dark background insure that only the flesh tones and the white collar and cuffs stand out.
The model has traditionally been identified as Jacob Gaultier, a lutenist at the English Court from 1617 to 1647, but the presence of a sword and the work's stylistic characteristics indicate that it dates from before Van Dyck's trip to London, which casts some doubt on this attribution. The presence of the musical instrument doesn't necessarily indicate that the model was a musician. As a courtly symbol par excellence, music was often alluded to in portraits as an indication of intellectual refinement and distinction.
There is no documentation of this painting before 1734, when it was listed among the paintings that survived the fire at Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
10.
Autor: El Bosco; Título: Extracción de la piedra de locura; Hacia 1490
Inside a circle, Bosch represents an operation to extract the stone of madness, which takes place in a broad landscape. Four persons occupy the scene. The surgeon stands, and the hapless patient sits. An assistant stands beside him while an old woman leans on the pedestal table with a book on her head.
The inscription in gothic lettering that frames the circle translates as: “Master, extract this stone from me soon, my name is Lubbert Das” [This name is sometimes translated as: “Castrated Badger”].
Bosch makes fun of the central character's attempt to cure his madness, which is understood to be stupidity or ignorance, a very common argument in several Flemish proverbs. The doctor's inverted funnel seems to imply that he is the true madman, while the woman with a book on her head, who looks on in amazement, seems to represent the weight of science. The tulip on the table represents the economic cost of the operation, symbolizing the surgeon's profit and casting him as a fraud.
In the sixteenth century, Felipe de Guevara owned a work on this subject, which was sold to Felipe II by his heirs. However, its size and format were different than the present work, which was first mentioned in 1745 in the Duke of Arco's country home, from which it entered the Royal Collection.
11.
Autor: El Greco; Título: Cristo abrazado a la Cruz; Hacia 1602
Caressing the cross, Christ has transcended physical pain on the way to Calvary, raising his gaze to Heaven with a serene gesture. The painter from Crete transforms this narration of the traditional Bible passage into an image of devotion. He makes it into a metaphor of salvation and redemption at a time when the Counter Reformation exalted the cross as one of its most eloquent symbols.
El Greco dealt with this subject on numerous occasions, but the present version stands out for its fluid execution and vibrant rendering.
In 1786 a painting on this subject is mentioned as being in the Convent of Saint Hermenegild in Madrid.
12.
Autor: El Greco; Título: El caballero de la mano en el pecho; Hacia 1580
A portrait of an unidentified person wearing a black suit with lace collar and cuffs and a pendant and sword that indicate he is a gentleman. This is one of the masterpieces of the Spanish Renaissance and the best known of El Greco’s works.
Painted during the artist’s first years in Toledo, Gentleman with his Hand on his Chest is remarkable for the expressive gaze its sitter directs at the viewer, and the naturalness of the hand’s gesture.
There are many hypotheses about the identity of the sitter and the significance of the painting. Some see his gesture as a symbol of repentance, or of a vow and, while there are reasonable doubts, he could be identified as Juan de Silva y Ribera III, Marquis of Montemayor and mayor of the Alcazar of Toledo.
This work comes from the country home of the Duke of Arco in El Pardo Madrid).
13.
Autor: El Greco; Título: La Sagrada Familia con Santa Ana y San Juanito; Hacia 1600
14.
Autor: Giaquinto, Corrado; Título: El nacimiento del Sol y el triunfo de Baco; Cronología: Hacia 1762
The sun god, Apollo, guides his chariot through the center of the composition. Borne by clouds, the goddess, Juno appears. On the ground, Bacchus, the god of wine rides an ass with a crown of grape leaves on his head. This is the moment of his coronation and he is surrounded by nymphs and other members of his retinue. He is accompanied by Diana, the goddess of the hunt, who can be identified by her symbol, the half moon. In the background, Venus, the goddess of beauty, floats over the sea.
This painting, whose composition is based on classical Greco-Latin mythology, is a sketch for the ceiling of the Hall of Columns at Madrid's Royal Palace, which was painted in 1762.
15.
Autor: Giordano, Luca; Título: Mariana de Neoburgo, reina de España, a caballo; Hacia 1694
16.
Autor: Giordano, Luca; Título: Carlos II, rey de España, a caballo; Hacia 1694
17.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: Fernando VII, ante un campamento; 1814
Born in 1784 in El Escorial, Fernando VII was Carlos IV eldest son by Maria Luisa. In 1815, after abolishing the Constitution, he reined as an absolute monarch. He appears wearing the symbols of his royal condition, with a purple, ermine-lined robe, and a scepter with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon in his right hand. The sash of the Order of Carlos III crosses his chest, and he also bears the Golden Fleece.
Some doubts and pentimenti revealed by x-rays indicate changes to the figure, which could suggest that Goya made this portrait in presence of the King, himself, as the facial expression and distrustful gaze -despite the vacuous smile on his lips- are rendered with admirable mastery worthy of a portrait made before a live model.
18.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: La marquesa de Santa Cruz; 1805
Joaquina Téllez-Girón y Pimentel 1784-1851) was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and Marchioness of Santa Cruz by her marriage to José Gabriel de Silva y Walstein in 1801. A friend of poets and literati, she was one of the most admired women of her time. Goya presents her wearing white crêpe and reposing on a canapé upholstered in red velvet. She is crowned with grape leaves and clusters. This headdress and the lire-shaped guitar identify her as Erato, the muse of Love Poetry -a clear reference to her love of poetry and music.
This canvas is in excellent condition and, unlike most, still has its original shine, revealing the stunning perfection of its tonal relations as well as a rich, confident pictorial technique.
It is signed and dated on the lower left corner.
19.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: El general don José de Urrutia; Hacia 1798
Don José de Urrutria y de las Casas 1739-1809), was the only soldier of his day to reach the rank of Field Marshal without being a titled nobleman. He is shown wearing the Cross of Saint George which he received from Catharine of Russia for his actions at the siege of Ozaku Crimea) in 1789. In 1798 he was removed from all public office due to differences with Manuel Godoy.
This portrait is one of the most penetrating psychological studies painted by Goya in his maturity. It was commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and recalls works by Reynolds and other English portrait painters, whose work Goya probably knew through prints. Goya brings out the external symbols of his condition as a sodier -his uniform, decorations, staff and sword- but he also delves into the general's personality and psychology, full of dignity, hardness, decisiveness and a certain reserve.
The work is signed on a stone in the lower right corner.
20.
Autor: Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de; Título: La vendimia, o El Otoño; 1786 - 1787
Dressed in yellow clothes that symbolize autumn, a young man sitting on a stone offers a cluster of black grapes to a lady. A boy is eager to reach the offered fruit, which is reserved for the adults. A woman stands next to them, holding a grape basket on her head, much like the classical allegory of the goddess Ceres with fruit on her head. Some grape harvesters are behind them, next to the grapevine that leads to a valley crowned with the suggestion of mountains in the background.
Here, following Western painting's traditional iconography, the grape harvest is an allegory of autumn. This is one of the most beautiful and best-known compositions from all of Goya's cartoon series. It's pyramidal structure, and the figures that recall ancient statuary, define the artist's study of the classical artistic tradition.
This cartoon was for one of the tapestries intended for the Prince of Asturias' dining room at the El Pardo Palace.
21.
Autor: Guercino; Título: Magdalena penitente; 1645 - 1649
22.
Autor: Hamen y León, Juan van der; Título: Retrato de enano; Hacia 1626
A sumptuously dressed and armed dwarf holds a ruler's staff, an attribute of power that cannot have corresponded to his status. He was probably one of the court buffoons, who were showered with presents and dressed in ostentatious luxury. Since the sixteenth century, portraits of these figures were quite customary, although it was Velasquez who explored this genre with singular mastery. The date generally attributed to this extraordinary portrait indicates that the model might be Bartolillo, a dwarf whose presence in the Palace is documented between 1621 and 1626.
Juan van der Hamen was best known for his excellent still lifes, although he also made religious paintings and portraits of high quality, like the present one. Notable here, besides the marked detail and tenebrist lighting, is the expressive strength of the protagonist, who is portrayed with enormous dignity and an expression that is practically defiant.
23.
Autor: Joli, Antonio; Título: Partida de Carlos de Borbón a España, vista desde el mar; 1759
A depiction of the port of Naples on 6 October 1759, when Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) left for Spain, where he would reign under the name of Carlos III. son of Felipe V (1683-1746) and Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1776), Carlos was king of Naples and Sicily until his brother, Fernando VI (1713-1759) died without issue, obliging Carlos to return to Spain.
The scene shows the fleet led by the Marquis of La Victoria with the port of Naples in the background.
There are four known autograph versions of this work, one of which disappeared in the fire at the Spanish Embasy in Lisbon in 1975. It is paired with Carlos III Embarking in the Port of Naples (P232).
24.
Autor: Jordaens, Jacob; Título: Meleagro y Atalanta; 1620 - 1650
After killing the wild boar that was ravaging the kingdom of Calydon, Meleager offered its head to Atalanta, of whom he was enamored. But the hunter's uncles considered themselves the rightful recipients of that trophy. They took it from her, provoking such rage in Meleagrus that he killed them.
Jordaens places the figure in the foreground like a long running frieze. In the group on the right, Meleager's hand moves to his sword, ready to begin the attack on his own uncles, while Atalanta, with an expression of fear, tries to stop him.
On the left, the group of hunters marks the composition's rhythm. Their weapons, an arm and the movement of their dogs draw the viewer's gaze toward the main event. The two parts of the painting were made separately. First, Jordaens painted the group on the right, and their characteristics belong to his youth, when his works were dominated by forceful and monumental figures in the manner of Rubens 1577-1640). The figures on the left were painted on a piece of canvas that was added to the other group and belong to the artist's late style.
This painting is not documented until 1746, when it was at the La Granja Palace.
25.
Autor: La Tour, Georges de; Título: Ciego tocando la zanfonía; 1610 - 1630
La Tour depicts an old, blind street musician playing a hurdy-gurdy, which is a subject he repeated on various occasions. Active in Lorraine Eastern France) and influenced by Caravaggio, this artist took pleasure in recreating details such as the ribbon adorning the instrument, the old man's hair and his wrinkled face. This is a fragment of a larger composition.
26.
Autor: Loo, Louis Michel van; Título: Felipe V, rey de España; Cronología: Hacia 1739
27.
Author: Lorraine, Claude French); Title Пейзаж с отшельником по загадочной причине его нет в online каталоге Прадо; Chronology 1636-1638
28.
Autor: López Portaña, Vicente; Título: Félix Antonio Máximo López, primer organista de la Real Capilla; Cronología 1820
This portrait of Félix Antonio Máximo Portaña 1742 - 1821), the first organist of the Royal Chapel and a notable musician and composer, was commissioned by his eldest son, Ambrosio López.
A formal work that emphasizes the sitter's category through a series of details, especially the red and blue uniform of his job at the palace, the braid on the cuffs of his dress coat that indicate his status in the Royal Household, and the orchestra director's baton he bears on his right arm.
The affected and polished technique employed here is characteristic of López and is complemented by the lighting. Rather than being frontal, as was customary, it comes from above, giving the sitter a romantic, melancholy and spiritual air.
Unlike what customarily happened in works by other painters, the score the organist holds is perfectly recognizable here. It bears the first new chords of a piece called “Obra de los locos/Primera parte/All[egr]o Mo[dera]to”.
This work was purchased from Pablo Bosch for the Prado Museum by Royal Order of 20 June 1879.
29.
Autor: Madrazo y Agudo, José de; Título: El Amor divino y el Amor profano; 1813
A young male spirit symbolizing Virtue sits at the foot of an oak tree wearing a laurel crown. He looks to the heavens offering the crown he obtained after his victory over Earthly Love. Conquered and stripped of his weapons -they lie on the ground- the latter is tied to a tree.
Madrazo made this work during his stay in Rome, influenced by a subject with clear antecedents in Renaissance painting and in seventeenth-century Bolognese classicism. In that same esthetic line, the pictorial treatment is related to the neoclassical language of Mengs, a return to the manner of his first training as a youth. This manner is characterized by rigorous modeling and light sfumato treatment of the shapes. The meticulous and descriptive technique with which he renders the elements depicted therein also offers an idea of the painterly qualities attained by Madrazo when he made this work.
By 1828, it was already in the inventory of Fernando VII's paintings that was the basis for the incipient Prado Museum.
30.
Autor: Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista; Título: Adoración de los pastores; 1612 - 1614
This religious painting follows the Baroque principles of credibility and immediacy that bring miracles closer to society by giving them an everyday appearance. The elongated format, as well as the high vanishing point, are determined by the placement of this painting at the bottom of the left side of an altarpiece. They thus facilitate the continuation of real space into the false space of the painting, whose three-dimensional appearance accentuates the scorzo of the shepherds and animals in the foreground.
Maíno painted this work shortly after returning from Italy. It is his colorist interpretation, in the manner of Orazio Gentileschi, of Caravaggio's work, using directed light, popular models and still-life elements in the foreground.
Along with the Adoration of the Magi P00886), this work was painted for the main altarpiece of the church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo.
31.
Autor: Martínez del Mazo, Juan Bautista; Título: La emperatriz Margarita de Austria; 1666
A court portrait of the Infanta Margarita 1651-1731) at the age of fifteen. She was the daughter of Felipe IV 1605-1665) and Mariana de Austria 1634-1696) and the future wife of Emperor Leopold of Austria 1640-1705).
The Infanta, who is also the central figure in Diego Velasquez's Las Meninas P1174), poses in front of a velvet curtain wearing a sumptuous dress with pink and silver embroidery. She holds a handkerchief in her right hand and a rose in her left.
There has been considerable argument about who painted this work, whether it is by Diego Velasquez, de la Mazo, or perhaps a combination of both. It is currently considered one of Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo's masterpieces, and its extraordinary quality is proof of this painter's mastery.
32.
Autor: Meléndez, Luis Egidio; Título: Bodegón: un trozo de salmón, un limón y tres vasijas; 1772
This superb example of the artist's virtuosity at capturing elements with a direct and realistic language can be considered a work from late in his career. A sole lemon in the foreground offsets the group of elements consisting of a slice of fresh salmon and various cooking utensils, including a copper vessel, a pot of the same material and an Alcorcón style jug with a bit of crockery as a lid. A handle in the background might belong to a ladle. The surface on which these items sit disappears into the background. Its edge is emphasized by a spoon with a very long handle.
33.
Autor: Meléndez, Luis Egidio; Título: Bodegón con caja de jalea, rosca de pan, enfriador con botella, salvilla de plata y vaso; 1770
The canvas describes a chocolate service with its copper chocolate pot, high, vertical stirring stick and long horizontal handle. In front, a large plate has a cup, a bun and some cakes, one of which rests directly on the table. In the foreground, some chocolate medallions spill out of their paper wrapping.
This work is exceptional in its depiction of objects of valuable porcelain, such as the cup, which may be Oriental, from the Compañía de Indias. This was in keeping with the high status of chocolate at that time when, more than a drink, it was a social event.
34.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: Carlos III; Hacia 1761
Born to Felipe V 1683-1746) and Isabel de Farnesio 1692-1766), Carlos III occupied the throne of Naples under the name Carlos VII between 1738 and 1759, when he became king of Spain. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, as well as the development of the arts and ideas associated with the Enlightenment.
He wears sumptuous military dress clothing, with the necklaces of the Golden Fleece, Saint Esprit and San Genaro on his chest. The portrait is completed with various elements alluding to his majesty as a monarch: the rulers staff in his right hand, and his royal ermine-lined robes, with castles, lions and fleurs de lis as heraldic symbols, on the table.
With this painting, Mengs configured the official image of the King of Spain, and numerous copies were mande. It is paired with the portrait of Mary Amalia of Saxony P2201), and both were painted shortly after the artist arrived in Spain.
35.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: María Luisa de Parma, princesa de Asturias; Cronología Hacia 1765
This pendant to Carlos IV, Prince of Asturias P2189) was probably painted in 1765 on the occasion of their engagement to be married. María Luisa was born to Felipe de Bourbon, Duke of Parma, and Louise Isabelle of France, in Parma in 1715 and died in Rome in 1819, seventeen days before her husband. The future Queen is depicted in a garden, wearing an elegant white dress. The insignia of the Order of la Cruz Estrellada hangs from its wide neckline. Her fine diamond headdress is accompanied by similar earrings and a short necklace. She holds two carnations in her right hand and a fan in her left, with a miniature portrait on her bracelet.
Her elegant, refined air reflect the courtly spirit of the Ancien Régime.
36.
Autor: Mengs, Anton Rafael; Título: Carlos IV, príncipe de Asturias; Hacia 1765
Carlos IV was portrayed by Mengs when he was still Prince of Asturias. In this three-quarters representation that reaches his knees, he wears a grey frock coat and high black boots. He carries a shotgun in his left hand and is accompanied by a hunting dog. He bears sashes of the Orders of Saint-Esprit and San Genaro, as well as the insignia of the Golden Fleece.
37.
Autor: Moro, Antonio; Título: Pejerón, bufón del conde de Benavente y del gran duque de Alba; Hacia 1560
The work is listed in the 1600 inventory of Madrid's Alcazar Palace as “Pejerón, the madman of the Count of Benavente, with white stockings and jerkin and a deck of cards in his right hand.” It was kept in the Treasury.
Mor probably made this work during his last visit to Spain in 1559. The jester appears full-length, standing, with a dark background and no spatial references. As he occupies all available space in the foreground, it is difficult to know his true height. He is sumptuously dressed in courtly clothing, and only his large head, short legs and deformed hand -the cards it holds symbolize leisure- bear witness to his condition and occupation, “the art of jest.”
38.
Autor: Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban; Título: La Virgen del Rosario; 1650 - 1655
39.
Autor: Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban; Título: El Buen Pastor; Cronología Hacia 1660
40.
Autor: Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan; Título: La reina Isabel de Valois, tercera esposa de Felipe II; Hacia 1605
A full-length portrait of Isabel de Valois 1546-1568). Daughter of Henri II of France 1519-1559) and Catharine of Medici 1519-1589), she was Felipe II's 1556-1598) third wife, and the mother of the infantas Catalina Micaela and Isabel Clara Eugenia.
While there has been much discussion about who may have painted this work, it is now accepted as a probable copy by Pantoja of an original by Sánchez Coello or Sofonisba Anguissola. The composition follows the norms for Court portraits established by Titian and Antonio Moro, with the queen standing up, sumptuously dressed, and leaning on an object. In this case, it is a column that symbolizes the dynasty, as well as a medallion with an image of her husband.
41.
Autor: Paret y Alcázar, Luis; Título: María de las Nieves Micaela Fourdinier, esposa del pintor; Cronología 1782 - 1785
The painter's wife is shown with a luxurious dress and a complicated hairdo that includes a small bouquet of flowers similar to the floral paintings this artist made some years before P1042 and P1043). She sits on a chair, in three-quarters and holding a music box, and her appearance evokes a melancholy atmosphere. This sensation of distance is reinforced by the fact that we see her through a window frame adorned with rose tendrils -symbolizing love- and a Greek inscription. All of this frames the figure in a sort of trompe l'oeuil. Paret masterfully unfolds a variety of different manners of painting to distinguish between the softness of his wife's hair -with extremely fine brushstrokes- and the rigidity of her white satin dress, capturing its highlights with expressive touches.
42.
Autor: Pereda y Salgado, Antonio de; Título: San Jerónimo; 1643
Saint Jerome is depicted meditating on the Last Judgment, as indicated by the print in the book, which reproduces a model by Albrecht Dürer. He is surrounded by various vanitas, such as the skull resting on some books and the stone with which he struck his chest. A pen and inkwell indicate his dedication to writing. Jerome was one of the most popular Saints in baroque Spain. His iconography made it possible to insist on one of the favorite themes of the Counter Reformation's ideology: the doctrine of repentance and penance.
The work is based on images by José Ribera, and reflects the tight and detailed technique of one part of the painter's production.
It is signed and dated on the stone in the lower left corner.
43.
Autor: Poussin, Nicolas; Título: Santa Cecilia; Hacia 1635
The virgin and martyr, Saint Cecile, has been venerated since Christian Antiquity. Since the sixteenth century, she has been considered the patron saint of music because, according to legend, while musicians played at her wedding, her heart sang only for God after she took her vow of chastity.
The saint is usually depicted with a musical instrument, or at the moment of her martyrdom, when an executioner unsuccessfully tried to decapitate her.
The technique, composition and color of this work reflect the Venetian painting's influence on Poussin's work. This painting was previously attributed to one of his collaborators, the French painter, Charles Mellin 1597-1649).
44.
Autor: Rafael; Título: Sagrada Familia del Cordero; 1507
The Virgin Mary helps the Christ Child to mount a lamb. Leaning on his staff, Saint Joseph looks on. The scene is set in an idyllic landscape with a church, a castle tower and some houses in the background. In Christian symbolism, the Lamb refers to Christ's Passion.
The three years Raphael spent in Florence allowed him to deepen his knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci's artworks, which he absorbed and interpreted in a personal way. The present work is an example of this, as it is inspired by Leonardo's drawing for the main altarpiece of the church of Santa Annunziata in Florence. But the relations between the characters and the dynamism of their gestures and gazes, which interrelates them, is the unquestionable mark of Raphael in the context of a classical style of serene beauty.
A preparatory drawing by Raphael for this painting is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The present work entered the Royal Collection in the late eighteenth century, when Carlos IV 1748-1819) bought it from the Falconieri Collection in Rome. After hanging in the Monastery of El Escorial, it entered the Prado Museum in 1837.
45.
Autor: Ranc, Jean; Título: Carlos de Borbón y Farnesio, niño futuro Carlos III de España); Hacia 1724
46.
Autor: Reni, Guido; Título: La Asunción y Coronación de la Virgen; 1602 - 1603
47.
Autor: Ribera, José de; Título: Isaac y Jacob; 1637
This work captures the moment when Jacob, his arm covered in a kid skin, pretends to be his hairy brother Esau in order to receive the blessings of his aged and blind father, Isaac. Behind them is Rebecca, who has planned this trickery, while the true Esau is in the background.
This story from Genesis is used by Ribera to compose a narrative of trickery and ambition, and he offers a lesson in mastering gestures and body expressions. Under this literal narration lies the symbolic content, which makes the work an allegory of the five senses touch, vision, hearing, smell and taste), represented by the protagonist's acts and the splendid still life on the table in the lower right corner of the painting, which alludes to taste.
One of Ribera's most ambitious works, it is also the one that best reveals his gift for pictorial narration. It was probably intended to hang over a door or window and its presence in Madrid's Alcázar Palace was documented in 1700. It remained in the Royal Collection until it entered the Prado, although it was at the Academy of San Fernando between 1816 and 1818.
The work is signed and dated on the lower right corner.
48.
Autor: Ribera, José de; Título: San Roque; 1631
49.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: Felipe II a caballo; Hacia 1630
A posthumous portrait of Felipe II wearing full body armor, a cape and a hat and riding a horse. Victory crowns him with laurels. The background alludes to a battle, probably that of San Quentín in 1557.
Inspired by the knightly ideas of the sixteenth century, this portrait is based on representations of Roman emperors that circulated on Flemish and Italian prints, as well as an image of Carlos V, Felipe II's father, who appears in one of the tapestries from the series The Conquest of Tunisia, designed by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Ca. 1500-1559).
This work was made in 1628 during the artist's second visit to Spain. Rubens used objects from the Royal Armory, including the armor and sword, which are the same ones used by Titian for his portrait of the same monarch P411).
This work is listed in Madrid's Alcázar Palace in all the royal inventories since 1686. A strip at the top is an addition that was painted following the fire at that palace in 1734.
50.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: María de Medici, reina madre de Francia; Hacia 1622
Dressed completely in black, with a widow's headdress and simple jewelry, Marie de Medici is portrayed as the Queen Mother, after having governed France as a Reagent from 1610 to 1617.
As one of Rubens' most outstanding patrons, the queen commissioned him to decorate her Luxemburg Palace in Paris with a series of works that glorified her figure and that of her husband, Henri IV. Rubens began the present work with that end in mind, but it was left unfinished, as can be seen in the sketchy background.
This painting belonged to the artist until his death, and was later acquired by Felipe IV.
51.
Autor: Rubens, Pedro Pablo; Título: Perseo liberando a Andrómeda; 1639 - 1641
As punishment for the vanity of Cassiopeia, who thought herself more beautiful than the Neriads, Poseidon, god of the seas, sent a monster to the kingdom of Ethiopia. Its fury could only be detained if it received Cassiopeia's daughter, Andromeda.
This painting illustrates the moment when Perseus frees Andromeda from her bounds. He is in love with her, as is made clear by the presence of Cupid with his quiver, and later makes her his wife. Hymen, goddess of marriage, announces this engagement with her customary torch. In the background, Rubens depicts Pegasus, Perseus' steed, alongside the slain monster.
This work was commissioned by Felipe IV for the New Hall at Madrid's Alcázar Palace, as an political allegory of the power of the Spanish Monarchy. The hero, with armor that was modern in the sixteenth century, a helmet and a shield with Medusa's head, was thus a metaphor of the King himself, and of his dominion over evil.
This is one of the last paintings Rubens took on. After his death in 1640, it was finished by Jacob Jordaens.
52.
Autor: Sánchez Cotán, Juan; Título: Bodegón de caza, hortalizas y frutas; 1602
This still life shows the inside of a cupboard. On the shelf are a group of birds consisting of two serins, two goldfinches and two sparrows on a cane, as well as three carrots, two radishes, and a large white thistle that closes the composition. Hanging from the upper sill are three lemons, seven apples, a goldfinch, a sparrow and two red partridges.
The composition is outstanding for its sobriety, intimacy and intensity. Those characteristics are emphasized by the lateral light that produces large shadows, creating a perfect and fully realistic illusion characteristic of still lifes painted by Cotán, which became the prototypes of Spanish still lifes.
This work was painted for Juan de Salazar, a minaturist at El Escorial and the executor or Sánchez Cotán's will. It belonged to the infante Sebastián Gabriel 1811-1875), from whom it was confiscated in 1835. It then entered the Trinity Museum but was returned to the infante's heirs some years later, remaining with them until 1991, when it was acquired by the Prado Museum with funds from the Villaescusa legacy and profits from the Velázquez exhibition 1991).
53.
Author: Sánchez Coello, Alonso; Title: The Infantas Isabel Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela; Ca. 1575
A court portrait of the infantas Isabel Clara Eugenia (1566-1633) and Catalina Micaela (1567-1597), who where the daughters of Felipe II (1556-1598) by his third wife, Isabel de Valois (1546-1568).
The girls are dressed as adults and shown at a distance. In keeping with the protocol of their relative ages, Isabel Clara Eugenia is closer to the viewer, in a painting that is halfway between official and private. This type of portraits exhibited the Monarch's dynastic continuity and simultaneously served as mementos of distant family members.
54.
Autor: Tiepolo, Giambattista; Título: Abraham y los tres ángeles; Hacia 1770
According to the Old Testament, the patriarch Abraham and his wife, Sarah, took in three pilgrims who came to their house in Mamre. They generously washed and fed them. As thanks, the visitors revealed that they were three angels sent by God to announce to the old couple the miracle of the upcoming birth of their son Isaac), which would be the origin of the people of Israel Genesis 18, 1-19).
Tiepolo depicts the moment when the angels appear as they really are to the patriarch, who falls to his knees at the sight, his hands clasped in prayer. A pilgrim's gourd and red staff appear in the lower right corner. A basket in the lower left corner holds the food to be shared.
This work belongs to the painter's Spanish period and is characterized by its daring composition, moving figures and contrasting colors.
It is not known what church this work was painted for.
55.
Autor: Tintoretto, Domenico; Título: La dama que descubre el seno; Siglo XVI
A depiction of a Venetian courtesan, probably the famous Veronica Franco 1546-1591). By playing with the model's gaze and clothing, the painter offers the viewer a subtly erotic game in which insinuation prevails over exhibition, so that the view of her breast is countered by her face in profile, giving her an air of mystery.
While originally attributed to Jacopo Tintoretto, this work is closer to that of his son, Domenico, who differed from his father in his greater emphasis on drawing and on the figures finish.
56.
Autor: Tintoretto, Jacopo Robusti; Título: El caballero de la cadena de oro; Hacia 1555
Tintoretto painted portraits from the beginning of his career, and it was the genre that allowed him to make a place for himself on the competitive Venetian art scene. Unlike Titian, with his elegant distance, Tintoretto rarely idealized his sitters, showing them with the attributes of their social standing, but without hiding the wrinkles on their faces.
For four decades, Tintoretto remained faithful to a few models and formulas. One of the distinctive traits of his portraiture technique is the importance he assigned to the face, which he shaped with brilliant highlights that make it stand out over the dark background.
This is the finest of the Tintoretto portraits at the Prado Museum and one of the most outstanding ever painted by that artist. It is probably one of the ones which, according to Palomino, Velasquez acquired in Venice during his second trip to Italy.
57.
Autor: Tiziano, Vecellio di Gregorio; Título: Carlos V con un perro; 1533
This, the first full-length portrait painted by Titian, represents Emperor Carlos V 1500-1558) with a dog, perhaps the one called Sampere.
This work was painted during the artist's second meeting with the Emperor, which took place in Bologna between 13 December 1532 and 28 February, 1533. It is a variation on an original painting by the German artist, Jacob Seisseneger, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna. Titian surpassed the earlier work, managing to give the Emperor a new aristocratic bearing by depicting him as more slender.
This painting was first mentioned in Spain in the 1600 inventory of valuables at Madrid's Alcázar Palace. Felipe IV 1605-1665) later gave it to Charles I of England, but it was later purchased at the auction of his belongings and returned to Spain. It entered the Prado Museum in 1821.
58.
Autor: Tiziano, Vecellio di Gregorio; Título: Venus recreándose con el Amor y la Música; Hacia 1555
Accompanied by a dog and reclining on a bed in front of a window through which the gardens of a villa are visible, Venus listens to the music played by an organist.
There are five known works by Titian on the subject of Venus and Music, and all follow the same model, though the organist is sometimes a lutenist and the dog is sometimes Cupid Prado Museum, Staatliche Museum of Berlin, Metropolitan Museum of New York and Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge).
These paintings have been interpreted in a variety of manners. Some historians see them as simple erotic scenes, while others consider them neo-platonic allegories of the senses, in which vision and hearing are instruments for knowing beauty and harmony.
This work, probably the first of the series, belonged to the legal expert, Francesco Assonica. It differs from the others in the individualization of both figures' facial features, giving it the appearance of a portrait. It was later acquired by Charles I of England. When the latter's possessions were auctioned, it was purchased by Luis Méndez de Haro for the collection of Felipe IV 1605-1665). It entered the Prado Museum collection in 1827 and is listed for the first time in Spain in the 1626 inventory of Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
59.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: Felipe IV; Hacia 1653
This bust portrait of Felipe IV on a dark background shows him wearing black clothing and a white ruff collar, which brings out the monarch's face.
Velasquez eschews the ostentation present in other portraits of the kings and offers a very close image, reflecting the king's most human condition without courtly artifice. The meticulous rendering of the facial features and the summary depiction of the suit stand out in this portrait that reveals Velasquez's capacity to capture the sitter's state of mind: the fatigue and melancholy of the last years of Felipe IV's reign.
It appeared in the collection of the Duke of el Arco in 1745 and became a part of the Royal Collection at that time.
60.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: Mariana de Austria, reina de España; Hacia 1652The daughter of Emperor Fernando III and Maria de Austria -Felipe IV's sister- was born in Neustad in 1634. She was supposed to marry her cousin, Prince baltasar Carlos. Two years after the latter died in 1646, she married her uncle, Felipe IV, despite the considerable age difference. As mother of the future Carlos II, she was a Reagent between 1664 and 1675, dying at the age of sixty-two.
Painted after Velasquez's second trip to Rome 1649-1651), this court portrait is characterized by a wise compositional conjunction that emphasizes elements symbolizing dignity and prudence as the qualities of majesty; and a loose and vibrant painting technique. It was enlarged with an added section in the upper part.
61.
Autor: Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y; Título: El bufón don Diego de Acedo, "el Primo"; Hacia 1644
Don Diego de Acedo, a servant in the palace beginning in 1635, combined his work as a buffoon -if, in fact he was one, as tradition would have it- with other jobs, such as royal courier and Royal Seal Officer. His responsibility for the seal with the royal signature explains the presence of the folio he holds, and the writing materials on the floor.
The nickname, “el Primo” (“The Cousin”) may be derived from the fact that that is how the King addressed Grandees, who had the privilege of leaving their hats on in his presence, just as the buffoon is in this portrait. If that is the case, it would mean that the nickname was intended to make fun of his pretended grandeur, although it has also been suggested that he was a relative of the painter.
The portrait's background is unfinished and clearly shows a series of vertical brushstrokes that are the result of cleaning the brush directly on the canvas.
Although there is evidence that Velasquez painted a portrait of Don Diego in 1644 during the Royal sojourn in Aragon, it is not certain that this is the same work. It was in the Alcázar Palace in Madrid during the seventeenth century and was then moved to the Torre de la Parada, in El Pardo, and finally to the Royal Palace. From there, it entered the Prado Museum in 1819.
62.
Autor: Veronese, Paolo; Título: Magdalena penitente; 1583
This late work by Veronese reflects the transformations experienced by Venitian religious painting around 1575, when they were subject to control by the Inquisition. Veronese adapted his style to meet these demands, and in his late works we can see a progressive simplification of the compositions, a darkening palette of colors, and the use of a sketchier brushstroe. The result is images of concentrated emotion, stripped of details that could distract the faithful.
This work was acquired by Luis de Haro upon the death of Charles I of England. In Spain it first appeared in the inventory of Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1766) at the La Granja Palace in 1746, where it remained until 1814.
63.
Autor: Watteau, Jean Antoine; Título: Fiesta en un parque; 1712 - 1713
This work is typical of Watteau's “Fêtes Galantes,” small scenes for the beginning of the Rococo that represent agreeable parites in the midst of trees and exuberant nature, filled with exquisite sensuality, delicacy and lyricism. In these pieces, Watteau offers a scrupulous study of the society of that moment, including a few unavoidable touches of cynicism that came from the knowledge of theater set design he gained at the Commedia dell' Arte.
Here, he presents a series of couples and groups of people in a clearing in the woods, with fountains dedicated to Neptune, the god of the seas, and Ceres, goddess of fecundity and marriage. This is a clear example of his technique, with rapid and savory brushstrokes and a very sensitive use of light. These characteristics are drawn from the Baroque paintings of Peter Paul Rubens and from Venetian painting.
This work was listed in the 1746 inventory of Queen Isabel de Farnesio's (1692-1766) collection at the Palace of la Granja de San Ildefonso, and in 1794 at Aranjuez Palace. In 1814, it was at Madrid's Royal Palace.
64.
Autor: Weyden, Roger van der; Título: La Piedad; Hacia 1450
Before 1444, the Master from Tornai created a prototype for the Pietà with his Miraflores Triptych. His masterful manifestation of Mary's pain makes this image appropriate for satisfying the devotional needs of a broad clientele. That explains why Weyden and his workshop made so many versions, with variations that include who accompanies the Virgin and her Son.
In this version, which was cut down to a lobed shape at an unknown dated, the Virgin and her Son are accompanied by the figures of Saint John and a member of the Broers family, who donated money for the painting and occupies the same space as the holy figures. Both the presence of the donor and the crown of thorns advise the faithful as to the meditative purpose of this image.
65.
Autor: Zurbarán, Francisco de; Título: Agnus Dei; 1635 - 1640
This votive image was wide-spread in seventeenth-century Spain. It represents an Agnus Dei or “Lamb of God,” in allusion to Christ's sacrificial death to save humanity. The straightforward composition consists exclusively of an image of the young animal with its legs bound, lying on a windowsill and brightly light by a single light source.
66.
Autor: Zurbarán, Francisco de; Título: Cristo crucificado con donante; 1640
The image of Christ crucified appears alongside the sponsor of this work, on a neutral background.
Notable is the almost sculptural appearance of Christ, who wears the Crown of thorns and a loincloth, on which Zurbarán displays his technical prowess in handling the range of whites. The strongly contrasted light on both the sponsor's face and the body of Christ add depth to the composition and link its technique to tenebrism.