Spanish Royal Collection
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The Spanish royal collection of art was almost entirely built up by the monarchs of the
Habsburg family The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
who ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, and then the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...
(1700–1868, with a brief interruption). They included a number of kings with a serious interest in the arts, who were patrons of a series of major artists:
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
and
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
were patrons of
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, Philip IV appointed Velázquez as court painter, and
Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
had a similar role at the court of Charles IV. The royal family were the most important patrons of
Spanish art Spanish art has been an important contributor to Western art and Spain has produced many famous and influential artists including Velázquez, Goya and Picasso. Spanish art was particularly influenced by France and Italy during the Baroque and ...
throughout this period, although some important artists including
El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
,
Jusepe de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring to ...
, and Zurbaran were little patronised. Foreign artists were often imported, although even in the 16th century the most successful were often reluctant to go to Spain, partly because they feared they would never be allowed to leave. In addition, at various periods, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, the monarchs bought paintings abroad on a significant scale, especially in Italy, but also the
Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
and France. In early periods the scattered Spanish possessions included the important artistic centres of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. With the loss of the Low Countries as a result of the
Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of ...
, the Spanish crown developed tapestry manufacture in Madrid to avoid the need for imports of these luxury items. As a young man, Goya executed a number of tapestry designs for use in the royal palaces. Royal patronage was also used to develop other arts and crafts in Spain in the 18th century, for example the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja produced luxury glass products. The enormous collections have been significantly reduced by a series of fires, losses in the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
and to a lesser extent the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, and diplomatic gifts. The collections have passed to public ownership, and a large number are on display at various locations. Although the collection is rightly most famous for its paintings, with the
Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It migh ...
in Madrid holding the main collection, there are large holdings of sculpture, and most forms of the
decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
. What is probably the world's finest collection of Renaissance Flemish
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
is mostly displayed at the
Palace of La Granja The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spanish: ''Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso''), known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of San Ildefonso, located in the hills near Segovia and north of Madri ...
, and the collection of
plate armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...
in the Armoury in the Royal Palace, Madrid is only rivalled by its equivalent in Vienna.


History


Charles V

Few Spanish paintings are recorded in the collection that were owned before the Habsburg reigns. The c. 300 paintings owned by
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
(d. 1504) were dispersed in an auction after her death, with the paintings fetching very low prices compared to the many tapestries or her jewels and even clothes. For example, a painting by
Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ;  – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...
was valued at 170 '' maravedis'', but a tapestry of Lazarus at 150,000. Some pieces were bought by the family, but her husband Ferdinand was mainly interested in the tapestries, paying 524,072 for two sets of four each, and buying the Lazarus piece at a lower price. Isabella's son-in-law
Philip the Handsome Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular ruler, titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the fir ...
(Charles V's father) bought the ''Polytych of Isabella of Castille'' a set of small religious paintings by
Juan de Flandes Juan de Flandes ("John of Flanders"; c. 1460 – by 1519) was a Flemish painter active in Spain from 1496 to 1519. His actual name is unknown, although an inscription ''Juan Astrat'' on the back of one work suggests a name such as "Jan van d ...
that have mostly remained in the royal collection (now Royal Palace). Juan was court painter for
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
from 1496, but all of his paintings in the Prado collection were acquired in the 20th century, The collection includes those parts taken to Spain in the 16th century of the collection of the Valois Dukes of Bugundy, whose heir was Charles V. The
Early Netherlandish painting Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. It flourished especiall ...
s were further reinforced in 1558 on the death of Charles V's sister,
Mary of Hungary Mary, also known as Maria of Anjou (, , ; 137117 May 1395), reigned as Queen of Hungary and Croatia (officially 'king') between 1382 and 1385, and from 1386 until her death. She was the daughter of Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland ...
, shortly after her retirement as governor of the Netherlands. She was a keen collector whose heir was Philip II. Her legacy included the ''Deposition of Christ'' by
Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...
(Prado), by then over a century old. She also had two dozen Titians. Charles V was also the heir of his great-aunt Margaret of Austria (d. 1530), also governor of the Netherlands and a keen collector, though mostly of contemporary Netherlandish paintings. Her collection included the ''
Arnolfini Portrait ''The Arnolfini Portrait'' (or ''The Arnolfini Wedding'', ''The Arnolfini Marriage'', the ''Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife'', or other titles) is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It fo ...
'' by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
, which left the collection in the Napoleonic Wars and is now in the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. All of these additions from the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
were probably valued more for their tapestries than their paintings. Charles V spent more on tapestries than paintings (like his contemporary
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
), and commissioned them throughout his life, continuing the family tradition, and reflecting common royal preferences at the time. The largely German collections of Charles' grandfather
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself El ...
and the earlier Habsburgs mostly remained in Austria and Germany when in 1556 Charles V abdicated and divided his enormous realms between his brother, who became
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1 ...
, and his son Philip, who received Spain, the Netherlands and the Habsburg possessions in Italy. They are now in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...
,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, and elsewhere. Charles V was also a keen and discriminating collector, and his relentless travelling made him aware of the diversity of Renaissance art, above all that of Italy. He was greatly impressed by a Titian portrait of the Duke of Mantua and his dog (c. 1529, Prado), and arranged for
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
to paint him, in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
in 1532, full-length and also with a hound (Prado). This was a repetition of a recent portrait (Vienna) by his brother's court painter
Jakob Seisenegger Jakob Seisenegger (1505–1567) was an Austrian portrait painter who was the court painter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and also painted Ferdinand's brother Charles V. Most of his portraits are of the Austrian Habsburg family and their a ...
, intended as a demonstration piece. This fully won Charles over, and from then on he never posed for any other portrait painter, as
Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...
says, despite the difficulties in meeting Titian to pose. His ''
Equestrian Portrait of Charles V ''Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'' (also ''Emperor Charles V on Horseback'' or ''Charles V at Mühlberg'') is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian. Created between April and September 1548 while Titian was at the i ...
'' (Prado) set the standard for the genre, influencing later artists such as
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...
,
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
, and
Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
. But the Milan-based sculptor
Leone Leoni :''For the early 17th-century composer, see Leone Leoni (composer)''. Leone Leoni (ca. 1509 – 22 July 1590) was an Italian sculptor of international outlook who travelled in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Leoni is re ...
, assisted by his son Pompeo, occupied from 1546 an equivalent position in sculpture; there are full and half-length bronze portrait sculptures of Charles in the Prado, as well as medals and
engraved gem An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lu ...
s. The Dutch painter
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, or Jan Mayo, or Barbalonga (c. 1504 – 1559) was a Dutch Northern Renaissance painter. Biography Based on his will, rediscovered in 1998, Vermeyen was born in Beverwijk in 1504 (possibly 1503 or 1505). According to ...
was mostly used to record Charles's military victories, especially in designs for large tapestries, and Charles took him on his campaign to
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
.


Philip II

Charles's son
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
(reigned 1556 to 1598) was devoted to his father's memory, and probably more interested in art than his father; certainly he commissioned and bought much more, and by the end of his life the collection included some 1,500 paintings, and about 700 tapestries. He took over Charles's key artists, Titian and the Leonis, and commissioned the famous and now dispersed series of mythological paintings known as the ''poesie'', which represent some of his finest late works. Of these six or seven paintings, only one at most of the
prime version In the art world, if an artwork exists in several versions, the one known or believed to be the earliest is called the prime version. Many artworks produced in media such as painting or carved sculpture which create unique objects are in fact re ...
s remained in the collection until transfer to the Prado; five are now in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and one in the United States. In 1561 Philip established Madrid as the capital of Spain, something his father had planned but never implemented. He also began to construct a massive monument to his father and the other Spanish Habsburgs at
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
, whose building and decoration was to be the major artistic project of his reign.


Philip III

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
, who reigned from 1598 to 1621, continued the output of royal portraits, but otherwise was not greatly interested in art. Arguably, his reign was in any case an unremarkable period in Spanish painting. He commissioned an
equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
of himself by
Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...
, who did not visit Spain in person.
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
came as an ambassador, and painted his '' valido'' (chief minister and
favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...
) the Duke of Lerma, but not the royal family.


Philip IV

In great contrast to his father, the long reign of
Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
(1621-1665) saw great personal involvement by the monarch in artistic patronage.
Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
(1599-1660) was brought to the king's attention when still young, after the death of
Rodrigo de Villandrando Rodrigo de Villandrando (died c. 1457) was a Spanish routier from Castile and mercenary military leader in Gascony during the final phase of the Hundred Years' War. He was famous for his pillaging and was consequently known as the Emperor of Pi ...
in 1622, and remained in royal service for the rest of his life, also progressing through the hierarchy of courtiers. Philip enjoyed his company, and often came to see him paint. The very informal ''
Las Meninas ''Las Meninas'' (; ) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting, due to the way its complex an ...
'' show the artist painting the king and queen, with their daughter watching. Velázquez was twice given permission to visit Italy, in 1629-30 and 1649-51. On the second visit he was used as a agent of the king to buy art, which he did on a large scale.


Locations

In June 1561 Philip II set his court in Madrid, installing it in the
Alcázar An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for gover ...
, which became home to a huge art collection. The monarchy continued to use other palaces. A new palace was begun in 1563 when the corner-stone was laid of
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
, a combined monastery and palace in the mountains to the north of the capital. In 1734 the Alcázar was destroyed by fire along with many works of art.


The Prado

Many of the finest paintings from the former Spanish royal collection are housed in the
Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
, Spain's national art museum. This institution was opened to the public as an art gallery in 1819 in an initiative associated with Queen Maria Isabel. Having been a royal museum (''Museo real de pinturas''), the Prado was nationalised in 1868 as a consequence of the deposition of Queen Isabel II. To mark the 200th anniversary of the Prado, the
Hall of Realms The ''Salón de Reinos'' (translated as "Hall of the Kingdoms" or "Hall of Realms") or ''salón grande'' ("great hall") is a 17th-century building in Madrid, originally a wing of the Buen Retiro Palace. The Salón de Reinos and the Casón del Bu ...
, a surviving 17th-century wing of the Buen Retiro Palace, is being redeveloped as part of the campus of the museum. Originally, the Hall housed large paintings from the royal collection. Some of these, such as equestrian portraits of the family of Philip IV, are now in the Prado. While in theory these paintings could be restored to their original location, this would disrupt the layout of key galleries of the Prado, and other uses are currently envisaged for the Hall of Realms.


Royal sites

The heritage agency
Patrimonio Nacional Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the Monarch and the Spanish Royal Fami ...
looks after a number of royal sites in Spain and the art works in them. A new museum in Madrid, the
Royal Collections Museum The Royal Collections Gallery, originally named Royal Collections Museum () is an art museum in Madrid yet to be opened. Dependent on Patrimonio Nacional, it is located in a new building in the gardens of the Campo del Moro park next to the Almude ...
, has been built in the 21st century on a site near the
Palacio Real The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
and the Royal Armoury in order to display material from the royal collections which is in the care of Patrimonio Nacional. The Palacio Real contains numerous artworks including frescoes by
Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...
and a unique set of
Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...
instruments known as the
Stradivarius Palatinos The Stradivarius Palatinos are a set of five string instruments made by Antonio Stradivari around 1700. They are kept in Madrid's Royal Palace. The term "Palatino" can in this case be translated as "court" instruments, as it refers to their belo ...
. Once the new museum is open, the three buildings will be complementary in a way arguably comparable to the triangle of art of the Paseo del Prado. The chronological framework of the new museum is from the Middle Ages to the reign of
Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
. Patrimonio Nacional has a tradition of organising temporary exhibitions, for example in 2019 it mounted an exhibition about
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...
's
humanitarian intervention Humanitarian intervention is the use or threat of military force by a state (or states) across borders with the intent of ending severe and widespread human rights violations in a state which has not given permission for the use of force. Humani ...
in the First World War. It expects to change regularly the exhibits in the new museum.


Losses

In 1604 much of the secondary royal palace of
El Pardo El Pardo is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656. History The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madrid ...
, then just outside Madrid, was destroyed in a fire. Many paintings were rescued, but the group of important royal portraits by Titian and others in the "Hall of Kings" were mounted on the walls by
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
frames, and could not be taken out in time. Philip III ordered the room to be reconstituted, with
Juan Pantoja de la Cruz Juan Pantoja de La Cruz (1553 – 26 October 1608) was a Spanish painter, one of the best representatives of the Spanish school of court painters. He worked for Philip II and Philip III. The Museo del Prado contains examples of his severe portr ...
set to producing new versions of the paintings from the sources available to him. The
Torre de la Parada The Torre de la Parada is a former hunting lodge that was located in present-day Monte de El Pardo in Fuencarral-El Pardo, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, some way outside Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was mostly destroyed by fire whe ...
, then just north of Madrid, was a large hunting lodge started by Charles V and greatly expanded by Philip IV. As such the extreme formality of the main royal palaces was relaxed there. The relatively informal Velázquez royal portraits in hunting clothes, and mock-heroic portraits of court dwarves and jesters, were painted for it, and also a huge series of 60 mythological subjects by Rubens and his workshop, from which 40 of the paintings and over 50 of Rubens'
oil sketch An oil sketch or oil study is an artwork made primarily in oil paint in preparation for a larger, finished work. Originally these were created as preparatory studies or modelli, especially so as to gain approval for the design of a larger commissi ...
es survive (Prado). The palace was mostly destroyed by fire when taken in 1714 by Austrian troops in the
War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
, remaining only as ruins. But much of the portable art had already been removed to other palaces. The first main home of the collection, the
Alcázar of Madrid An alcázar, from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in the Iberian Peninsula (also known as al-Andalus) built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for gov ...
, was completely destroyed by fire in 1734, with great losses. Some paintings, such as ''
Las Meninas ''Las Meninas'' (; ) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting, due to the way its complex an ...
'' were rescued, in that case by cutting it from its frame and dropping it out of a window. Some paintings had already been installed in the
Buen Retiro Palace Buen Retiro Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio del Buen Retiro'') in Madrid was a large palace complex designed by the architect Alonso Carbonell (c. 1590–1660) and built on the orders of Philip IV of Spain as a secondary residence and place of recrea ...
on the other side of the city centre. The Spanish Habsburgs ruled Portugal from 1581 to 1640 (under Philips II to IV), and Philip II in particular gave the main
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
residence the
Ribeira Palace Ribeira Palace (; pt, Paço da Ribeira) was the main residence of the Kings of Portugal, in Lisbon, for around 250 years. Its construction was ordered by King Manuel I of Portugal when he found the Royal Alcáçova of São Jorge unsuitable. The p ...
much art, including a large ceiling by Titian. This and most of its other art was lost in the
1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...
which largely destroyed the palace.


Wellington Collection

Some 80 paintings from the former Spanish royal collection are in the
Wellington Collection The Wellington Collection is a large art and militaria collection housed at Apsley House in London. It mainly consists of paintings, including 83 formerly in the Spanish royal collection, given to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who was P ...
in London. These were being taken from Spain by the French when they were captured by the British army at the
Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading to ...
. They were subsequently gifted to the British general
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
by Fernando VII, and are kept at Apsley House, the London home of the Dukes of Wellington, where they are mainly on public display.


Notes


References

*"Catalogo": ''Museo del Prado, Catálogo de las pinturas'', 1996, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Madrid, *Cremades, Fernando Checa; Fernández–González, Laura (eds), ''Festival Culture in the World of the Spanish Habsburgs'', 2016, Routledge, , 9781317135616
google books
*''The Prado Guide'', 2012, Museo Nacional del Prado, *
Trevor-Roper, Hugh Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...
; ''Princes and Artists, Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts 1517–1633'', Thames & Hudson, London, 1976,


Further reading

*Ortiz, Antonio Domínguez; Carretero, Concha Herrero; Godoy, José-A., ''Resplendence of the Spanish Monarchy: Renaissance Tapestries and Armor from the Patrimonio Nacional'', 1991, Metropolitan Museum of Art, {{ISBN, 0870996215, 9780870996214
google books
Art collections in Spain Former private collections *