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| Anthony van Dyck Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria 1634 Prado |
In 1634 King Philip IV sent his brother the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (above) to Brussels as the new governor of Spanish possessions in the Low Countries. Ferdinand immediately began commissioning and/or purchasing batches of Flemish paintings for shipment to Spain. These were intended to contribute toward the decoration of two new royal structures, the hunting lodge called the Torre de la Parada and the massive, hugely expensive new palace called the Buen Retiro. Many of the paintings shipped to Spain by Don Ferdinand (like those seen here) have survived within the collections of the modern Prado.
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| Frans Snyders The Lion and the Mouse 17th century Prado |
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| Frans Snyders The Cat and the Fox 17th century Prado |
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| Frans Snyders Dogs Attacking Stag 17th century Prado |
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| Frans Snyders Dogs Attacking Boar 17th century Prado |
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| Paul de Vos The Dog and the Reflection in the Water 1636-38 Prado |
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| Paul de Vos White Greyhound 1636-38 Prado |
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| Jan Wildens Landscape with Figures 1630s Prado |
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| Jan Wildens Landscape with Sheep Shearers 1613-16 Prado |
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| Andries van Eertvelt Marine Scene 17th century Prado |
Jonathan Brown and J.H. Elliott described this acquisition project in A Palace for a King : The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1980). "If lacking the distinction of the paintings produced in Italy," they wrote, "[the Flemish pictures] still achieved a high level of quality and helped to enrich the impression of opulence and splendor of the interior decoration."
The Flemish painting below received special attention from Brown and Elliott. "In June 1638 the Cardinal-Infante placed another order with Rubens for an unspecified number of pictures. Among them was at least one work destined for the Retiro, raising the possibility that the entire lot was meant for the palace. The identifiable work was Rubens's Judgment of Paris, which the Cardinal-Infante thought to be excellent, though he was concerned about the nudity of the goddesses."
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| Peter Paul Rubens Judgment of Paris c. 1638 Prado |
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| Gaspard de Crayer Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria 1639 Prado |