1635 · Museo del Prado, Madrid

Together with four more equestrian portraits painted or partly over-painted by Velázquez (Philip III, Queen Margarita, Isabella of Borbon, Philip IV), a cycle of 13 battle scenes by Cajés, Velazquéz, Maino, Zurbarán, Carducho, Castello, Jusepe Leonardo, and Pereda, and a series of the Labours of Hercules by Zurbarán, this picture was an element of the colossal decorative scheme of the Hall of the Realms in the Buen Retiro Palace. The scheme was organized by the Count-Duke of Olivares, with the aim of affirming the glory of the Spanish Monarchy during what was in fact a period of decline. Among the five equestrian portraits, only the portraits of Philip IV and Prince Baltasar Carlos are entirely by Velázquez's own hand.Show more