Mom's 1953 Europe Road Trip: Museo del Prado, Madrid

From Mom's Europe trip diary, in the "PLACES VISITED" section: 

October 11, Sunday – Madrid, Spain

After Mass, went to see El Prado Museum.  Saw a lot of Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Rubens, and Van Dyck.  Especially liked Goya and Rubens.  As weather was bad, the bullfight was cancelled.  Stayed in room all day until supper -- ate at a restaurant called El Chipen, which was all right but nothing extra. 

Here are some works Mom might have seen at the Museo Nacional del Prado:

Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566-1633) was a daughter of King Philip II of Spain.  At the time this portrait was painted by Peter Paul Rubens, she was ruling the Netherlands with her husband, Archduke Albert VII of Austria.  The building in the background (which was painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder) is her favorite palace, Mariemont (in today's Belgium), which was destroyed in the French Revolution.

Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, oil on canvas, circa 1615 / Peter Paul Rubens / Public domain

Queen María Luisa of Parma (1751-1819) was the wife of King Carlos IV of Spain, who ruled from 1788 to 1808.  The dress has a tontillo (like panniers), a style that originated in Spanish court dress of the 17th century.  This portrait was painted by Francisco Goya in 1789.

La Reina Maria Luisa con tontillo (Queen María Luisa wearing panniers), oil on canvas, 1789
/ Francisco de Goya y Lucientes / Public domain

Count Henrick van den Bergh (1573-1638) was a Dutch soldier in Spanish service until 1632.  This portrait by Flemish master Anthony van Dyck was acquired by King Philip IV of Spain at an auction of the property of the executed King Charles I of England in the mid-1600s.

Count Henrick van den Bergh, oil on canvas, circa 1629-1632 / Anthony van Dyck / Public domain

Speaking of Philip IV, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez painted him on horseback around 1634-1635.  This is an enlargement of part of the painting.  It was in Madrid's Royal Palace from 1734 to 1814 and entered the Prado Museum collection in 1819.

Philip IV on horseback (detail), oil on canvas, circa 1634-5 / Diego Velázquez / Public domain

Finally, here is a religious painting by El Greco ("The Greek, born born Doménikos Theotokópoulos) of the Virgin Mary:

La Virgen Maria, oil on canvas, circa 1597 / El Greco / Public domain

This is the 65th in a series of posts transcribing entries in my mother's 1953 Europe Trip journal.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.