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 when taken in 1714 by Austrian troops in the War of Spanish Succession, though the ruins remain. [2]
It was first built in 1547-49, with Luis de Vega as the architect. During the years 1635–40 it was a site for a major architectural and decorative project by King Philip IV of Spain who was a great hunting enthusiast. He commissioned the Spanish architect Juan Gómez de Mora to renovate it in 1636, and had it decorated by leading painters, including Rubens and Velázquez, who contributed some of his "jester" portraits, including The Jester Don John of Austria , The Jester Don Diego de Acedo , Portrait of Francisco Lezcano and Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid . [3] His Aesop and Menippus are also thought to have been intended for the lodge, as well as several of his well-known portraits of the royal family relaxed in hunting or riding clothes, including Prince Balthasar Charles as a Hunter .
Rubens was commissioned in 1636 to produce sixty mythological paintings, which he managed to do in about 18 months, assisted by Jacob Jordaens, Cornelis de Vos, Peter Snayers, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Theodoor van Thulden, Jan Boeckhorst and others, working to his designs. Forty of the paintings survive, as well as many of Rubens' oil sketches and drawings. [4] Most of all these works are in the Prado in Madrid.
The best paintings were later moved elsewhere, especially in 1710, but in 1806 a travel book describes paintings by the Flemish painters Paul de Vos, Erasmus Quellinus II, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Jan Cossiers, and "Yoris" (possibly Joris van Son who worked with Erasmus Quellinus). [5]
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes. A versatile artist, his works depict all sorts of foods, utensils, and tableware and wide assortment of animals. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with initiating a wide variety of new still-life and animal subjects in Antwerp. His hunting scenes and still lifes engage the viewer with their dramatic and dynamic effects. He was a regular collaborator with leading Antwerp painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and Abraham Janssens.
Cornelis de Vos was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and art dealer. He was one of the leading portrait painters in Antwerp and is best known for his sensitive portraits, in particular of children and families. He was also successful in other genres including history, religious and genre painting. He was a regular collaborator with Rubens.
Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert was a Dutch Republic-born Flemish Baroque painter.
The Antwerp School was a school of artists active in Antwerp, first during the 16th century when the city was the economic center of the Low Countries, and then during the 17th century when it became the artistic stronghold of the Flemish Baroque under Peter Paul Rubens.
Erasmus Quellinus the Younger or Erasmus Quellinus II was a Flemish painter, engraver, draughtsman and tapestry designer who worked in various genres including history, portrait, allegorical, battle and animal paintings. He was a pupil of Peter Paul Rubens and one of the closest collaborators of Rubens in the 1630s. Following Rubens' death in 1640 he became one of the most successful painters in Flanders. He was a prolific draughtsman who made designs for decorative programmes in the context of official celebrations, for publications by the local publishers and for tapestries and sculptures realised by the local workshops. His work reveals the Classicist trend in the Baroque.
Peter Snayers or Pieter Snayers (1592–1667) was a Flemish painter known for his panoramic battle scenes, depictions of cavalry skirmishes, attacks on villages, coaches and convoys and hunting scenes. He established his reputation mainly through his topographic battle scenes providing a bird's eye view over the battlefield. He further painted large landscapes and portraits of the aristocracy. He was a regular collaborator of local landscape painters and also Rubens.
Paul de Vos was a Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in mainly in compositions of animals, hunting scenes and still lifes. He worked for an elite clientele and was a regular collaborator of leading Antwerp painters such as Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens.
Theodoor van Thulden was a painter, draughtsman and engraver from 's-Hertogenbosch. He is mainly known for his altarpieces, mythological subjects, allegorical works and portraits. He was active in Antwerp, where he had trained, as well as in Paris and his native 's-Hertogenbosch.
The Jester Don Diego de Acedo is one of a series of portraits of jesters at the court of Philip IV of Spain by Diego Velázquez. Its subject is the dwarf Don Diego de Acedo, known as "el Primo". The 1645 oil painting is now in the Prado Museum. The work measures 106 cm high and 83 cm wide.
The Jester Named Don John of Austria is a portrait by Velázquez, now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Its subject was a jester or bufón at the court of Philip IV of Spain from 1624 to 1654 who appeared in court comedies in front of important court figures. The subject's real name is unknown, but he came to be nicknamed after John of Austria, the son of Charles V, well known for his victory at Lepanto. He is shown dressed in a general's cloak and black doublet, is surrounded by abandoned helmets, armour and weapons, and with a fragment of a battle-scene of Lepanto in the background.
Prince Balthasar Charles as a Hunter is a 1635 portrait of Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias by Diego Velázquez. It is now held at the Museo del Prado.
Portrait of Francisco Lezcano or The "Niño de Vallecas" is the 1645 portrait by Diego Velázquez of Francisco Lezcano, also known as Lezcanillo or el Vizcaíno, a jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain. It has been in the Prado since 1819.
Jacob Peter Gouwy or Jacob Peter Gowy was a Flemish Baroque painter of history paintings and portraits. He collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens and spent time in England where he was active as a portrait painter. As the creator of a large picture of a horse painted in England he can be considered one of the pioneers of the genre of portraits of horses.
The Rape of Ganymede is a painting by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens produced between 1636 and 1638 painting for the Spanish king Philip IV of Spain's hunting lodge. The painting is based on a story recounted in classical poet Ovid's Metamorphoses. It depicts the moment when the Roman supreme god Jupiter disguised as an eagle catches the young shepherd Ganymede and lifts him into the air. It is in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The dramatic scene gave Rubens ample opportunity to show his skill in depicting a lively scene and the nude.
Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye or The Discovery of Purple by Hercules's Dog is an oil painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens painted circa 1636, towards the end of his career. It depicts the mythical discovery of Tyrian purple by Hercules and his dog, and was one of dozens of oil on panel sketches made by Rubens for the decoration of the Torre de la Parada in Spain. A completed painting based on Rubens's sketch was made by Theodoor van Thulden in 1636–1638, and is now held by the Prado Museum.
Peeter Symons or Peeter Simons was a Flemish painter only known for his collaboration with Rubens in 1636 on the commission from the Spanish king Philip IV of Spain to create a series of mythological paintings to decorate the Torre de la Parada, a hunting lodge of the king near Madrid.
Jan Baptist Borrekens or Jan Baptist Borkens was a Flemish painter and art dealer. He was a history painter and is known to have collaborated with Peter Paul Rubens.
Apollo as Victor over Pan, also known as Apollo's Victory over Marsyas, Tmolus declaring Apollo winner in musical competition with Pan and Apollo and Pan, is a 1637 oil-on-canvas painting by Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer Jacob Jordaens.
The Spanish royal collection of art was almost entirely built up by the monarchs of the Habsburg family who ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, and then the Bourbons. They included a number of kings with a serious interest in the arts, who were patrons of a series of major artists: Charles V and Philip II were patrons of Titian, Philip IV appointed Velázquez as court painter, and Goya had a similar role at the court of Charles IV.
The Maagdenhuis Museum is an art museum and historical museum located in a 17th-century historic building on Lange Gasthuisstraat, Antwerp, Belgium. The building was used as an orphanage for the maegdeckens, or maidens, from the mid-16th century to the end of the 19th century. The museum presents a collection of utensils used daily by the foundlings and the orphans; a collection of antique furniture, and a series of documents relating to the orphanage and the life in it from the 16th century to 19th century.
Media related to Torre de la Parada at Wikimedia Commons
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