Conde duque de Olivares; Salón de Reinos; Madrid; Palacio del Retiro; Buen Retiro; Felipe IV; Historia Militar; Museo del Prado; siglo XVII - History Lab

The Hall of Kingdoms

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:03 +0000

The Salón de Reinos was one of the most important parts of the Buen Retiro Palace, built by order of the Count Duke of Olivares between 1630 and 1635. It owes its name to the representation of the coats of arms painted on the vault of the 24 kingdoms that made up the Hispanic Monarchy at the time of Philip IV. This space was conceived, around 1630, as a box from which the kings could attend the theatrical performances that were held in the courtyard, where the room continued to fulfil a festive function. This space played a fundamental role in the political exaltation of the monarchy of Philip IV, where twelve paintings of the most important battles that resulted in Spanish victories were preserved. In order to reinforce the idea of universal monarchy, a cycle commissioned to Zurbarán of the labours of Hercules was created on the headwalls, alluding to the mythological connection of the monarchy. In addition to this, four equestrian portraits were placed at the east and west ends, flanking the doors of the room, which were paired together: Philip IV and Isabella of Bourbon and Philip III and Margaret of Austria. Decorating the doorway above the first pair was another equestrian portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles. The kingdoms that belonged to the Hispanic Monarchy at that time were the following: Kingdom of Aragon, Archduchy of Austria, Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy of Brabant, Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon, Principality of Catalonia, Kingdom of Cordoba, County of Flanders, Kingdom of Galicia, Kingdom of Granada, Kingdom of Jaen, Kingdom of Mexico, Duchy of Milan, Kingdom of Murcia, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Kingdom of Navarre, Kingdom of Seville, Kingdom of Sicily, Kingdom of Toledo, Kingdom of Peru, Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Valencia and the Lordship of Vizcaya. However, although the decoration was made in 1630-35, it became outdated when Portugal became independent in 1640. It is now known as the former Army Museum. Since 2015 it has been managed by the Prado Museum, which decided to reopen it in 2019 to coincide with the bicentenary of the institution. However, it is still being developed by Norman Foster, who previously worked on the extension of the museum itself.

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Recovery of the island of San Cristobal

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:57 +0000

The islands of St Kitts, Nevis and St Eustatius in the Leeward Carib archipelago were occupied by the French and English in 1627. The Spanish expedition was commanded by Don Fadrique de Toledo y Osorio, first Marquis of Villanueva Valdueza (captain general of the Navy in the ocean) and Don Antonio de Oquendo (admiral). After capturing several corsair ships on the island of Nieves, he landed on the island of San Cristóbal, where he took two French forts and one English fort in just a few days and with hardly any losses, seizing 200 cannons and taking 2,300 prisoners. After the short-lived success and the occupiers’ tobacco plantations burned, Don Fadrique left the island for Portobelo and Havana without leaving a garrison, which led to it being taken by his enemies in 1630. Don Fadrique de Toledo was appointed captain general of the Ocean Sea in 1618, with important successes in the Mediterranean and Brazil. However, at the time of the representation he had fallen into disgrace when he clashed with the Count Duke of Olivares over a proposed expedition to Brazil, as the means demanded by Don Fadrique did not fit in with the Count Duke’s idea. He was therefore sent to prison in 1633 by the Council of Castile, which banished him in perpetuity and deprived him of his offices, income and possessions.

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Brisach Relief

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:57 +0000

Jusepe Leonardo’s painting depicts the liberation of the town of Brisach in October 1633, which was under the control of the Protestant Otto Ludwig. In that year the Duke of Feria completed the free communication between Milan, Germany and the Low Countries, i.e. via the well-known Spanish road, where Brisach played an important strategic role. In this work for the Salon de Reinos, the foreground shows the Duke of Feria, Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, who, as in Carducho’s paintings, appears armed with a loriga, a general’s red sash and the baton of command in his right hand, on his bucking horse while pointing to the battlefield. In the background are arquebusiers, preceded by halberdiers, guarding the flags and ammunition wagons. On an artistic level, Leonardo moved towards naturalism, absorbing the lessons of Velázquez.

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The recovery of San Juan de Puerto Rico

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:57 +0000

In this work for the Salón de Reinos at the Buen Retiro Palace, Eugenio Cajés depicts the defence and recovery of the bay of Puerto Rico from the Dutch attack of September 1625, led by Admiral Baldwin Henry. The Dutch entered the bay on 25 September and in the following two days occupied the space between the city and the castle of San Felipe, which was defended and governed by Don Juan de Haro. The siege lasted 28 days and ended after Haro twice refused to surrender and the city was set on fire on 22 October. On that day, a Spanish garrison under the command of Captain Juan de Amézqueta, at great risk and with the water up to their waists, forced the Dutch to re-embark (this is how Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses recounted it in Primera parte de la historia de don Felipe III, rey de Españas). The Dutch finally left the port on 3 November, leaving behind them 400 dead and a 500-ton ship with 30 pieces of artillery that ran aground. The figures in the foreground are Juan de Amézqueta and Juan de Haro. Behind them are Spanish troops pushing the Dutch into the sea and several enemy ships. It has been noted that the background bears a striking resemblance to the real landscape. The painter’s letters of payment and will show that he received a total of 700 ducats for the two works commissioned, one of them being this one and the other “The Expulsion of the Dutch from the Island of Saint Martin by the Marquis of Calderita” (a work that disappeared after the War of Independence, possibly having been taken by Sebastiani or some other French general). It seems certain that Cajés did not complete this representation, as Antonio Puga stated in his will that he had worked at Cajés’ house, by order of the painter, on the paintings in the Salón de Reinos, as did Luis Fernández, receiving 800 reales for having finished the painting that Cajés had begun. It has been suggested that this composition was provided by Carducho.

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