Luca giordano (1634-1705) made an equestrian portrait of charles ii destined for the hall of mirrors in the alcázar of madrid. The intention was to point out a dynastic continuity in which charles constituted the last link in a chain started by two characters of special significance: charles v and titian, through the portrait of the latter: charles v in mühlberg. The destruction of said portrait as a result of the alcázar fire in 1734 prevents us from knowing the appearance of the king, although it can be assumed that the need to give continuity to a previous set must have considerably limited the visual and narrative possibilities. There are currently two sketches in the prado museum that have been related to the lost portrait from the hall of mirrors. Traditionally, it has been widely considered that this painting in the prado museum was the preparatory sketch for that painting and it was pointed out that giordano was deliberately approaching the velazquez model for the portrait of philip iv in the hall of kingdoms of the buen retiro palace which, like that one, has a couple. In this work giordano generally followed the velazquez iconography, although he introduced very considerable differences, such as the appearance of allegorical elements with which he shows the sacred mission of the hispanic monarchy in defense of the faith in the upper part (approximating the portrait of philip iv by rubens, also missing), a message that is completed in the lower part with a victory among the infidels, who perish crushed by his horse. Furthermore, giordano established a different relationship between the model and the viewer, to whom charles ii turns his face, while philip iv, indifferent to our gaze, shows a surprising profile. However, a different hypothesis has recently been proposed that considers that this was not the portrait that hung in the alcázar, but rather the second of those preserved in the prado museum, carlos ii on horseback (p02761), which represents the monarch also on horseback, in an elegant corvette, dressed in a complete captain general's cuirass and wearing a hat. In favor of this hypothesis would be, above all, its resemblance to other equestrian portraits in the hall of mirrors. The equestrian portraits of charles ii and mariana of neoburgo that were to replace those of philip iii and margaret of austria, whose presence was not valid at a date close to 1694, the probable time of its creation (text extracted from úbeda de los cobos, a. In: cortes del barroco: de bernini y velázquez a luca giordano, 2003, pp. 77-80). Source: national prado museum. Object Type: painting. Genre: equestrian portrait. Date: 17th century. Dimensions: height: 81 cm (31.8 in); width: 61 cm (24 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Depicted People: Charles II of Spain. Collection: Museo del Prado. Charles II, King of Spain, on horseback (by Luca Giordano) - Museo del Prado, Madrid
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