To choose just ten works from among the 650 on display in the Royal Collections Gallery is to dare to choose between Raphael, Titian, Velázquez or Rubens. Few new spaces –opened in July 2023– are able to bring together the great artists of history in an exceptionally modern building that contrasts with and has changed one of the main views of the city (the one that can be seen from the Manzanares River).
This gallery has also been a new window to understand the history of Madrid. In addition to the fact that during the excavations for the construction of the building part of the arab wall some of the paintings show missing buildings that were once emblematic of the city, such as the Buen Retiro Palace.
1. El Buen Retiro Palace
The Buen Retiro Palace by Jusepe Leonardo is a painting in which to stop and imagine another Madrid. As if photographed with a drone, this is an aerial view of the almost disappeared Buen Retiro Palace and its gardens. Inaugurated in 1634 by Philip IV, it shows the central palace Suite, designed by the architect Alonso Carbonel. Highlights include the main square with the church of San Jerónimo, courtyards such as the Emperor’s and the Leonera, the Casón and the Plaza Grande with the Salón de Reinos.
The palace fell into disuse with the construction of the Royal Palace in 1764 and was virtually destroyed during the War of Independence against the French, when the English general Wellington ordered the dynamiting of the porcelain factory and its stronghold and set fire to the food stores located in the palace, leaving the city without supplies. Fernando VII ordered the demolition of the remains of the palace except for the Casón and the Salón de Reinos.
2. St. Michael the Archangel overcoming the devil
The archangel St. Michael defeating the devil is at the end of the tour, but it is one of the works that retains more attention. The sculpture is among the most relevant of the talented and industrious Luisa Roldán, better known as La Roldana. The Sevillian learned the trade from her father, the sculptor Pedro Roldán.
When she married she created her own workshop, although her independence was limited and she had to sign her husband’s name Luis Antonio de los Arcos, since by law a married woman could not sign the contracts for the commissions she received. Even so, it was vox populi that she was the one who did most of the work, and the one who overflowed with talent. So much so that she was appointed sculptor chamber after making this sculpture for Charles II.
3. Visigothic pieces
The exhibition begins with the first kings, as is logical: the Visigoths. Although the cross and crown on display are 7th and 8th century objects, they were not monarchical symbols, but religious ones. Its preciousness is a rare example of Byzantine influence in the peninsula. The votive cross (which is usually a votive offering) is part of the Guarrazar treasure, a discovery of Visigothic artifacts in 1858 in Toledo. Made of gold without ornamentation, it bears an inscription mentioning “Lucetius”, a character of whom there is no further record, but it is understood that he was relevant.
It is decorated with seven gold pendants, pearls and blue gems. It was given to Elizabeth II by one of the discoverers and is exhibited together with the votive wreath of Theodosius in the Royal Collections Gallery. Unlike other treasure crosses, its simplicity sets it apart.
4. The armor of Charles I
If your Roman Empire is the Roman Empire, chances are your favorite part of the Royal Collections Gallery is the armor boondoggle. The one of Charles I (above in the image) is part of a war garrison of the imperial armorer Desiderius Helmschmid in 1544, it stands out for its ogival festoons, engravings and gilding. Its design considered the physical condition of Emperor Charles I, marked by gout and the effort of the military campaign.
Although she was forged for the fourth war against France, her comfort led to her not being replaced. In 1547, it was used in the victorious battle of Mühlberg against the Protestant German princes. The emperor considered it his favorite, linking it to important campaigns, as reflected in works by Titian, Pantoja de la Cruz and sculptures by Leon and Pompeo Leoni. This armor became a personal symbol of the emperor.
5. The first edition of Don Quixote
Whether you are a bibliophile or not, seeing a first edition of El Ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes gives a feeling of absolute privilege. Signed above by an unknown, P.A Rosseau, this book was a gift to Alfonso XIII from his cousin Doña Luisa de Orleans, in May 1921, and came from the library that his parents, the Counts of Paris, had in the castle of Randan. That is why it has annotations in French on the first pages in the margins. This is one of two copies belonging to the Royal Library.
6. Charles IV with his back turned
A small frame, but so modern in its composition that it looks like a photo intentionally stolen from a lifestyle influencer on Instagram. Perhaps that is why it is the work most repeated among the appearances on the social network when the Royal Collections Gallery is mentioned. In this painting that Juan Bauzil made in 1818, Charles IV can be seen with his back turned, with a fine ponytail knotted with a ribbon, as was typical at the time, with some side curls and a few small hairs standing out on the crown of his head, which make the painting, if possible, more pleasant and fresh.
7. Solomonic columns
Spanish baroque takes shape in these lapis lazuli covered columns by José de Churriguera. They are at the beginning of the tour, it is the first thing you find and their size is impressive, each column is 5.65 meters high and weighs almost 600 kilos. Created between 1674 and 1678, they were part of the altarpiece of the main altar of the church of the Hospital Virgen de Montserrat in Madrid.
Charles II consecrated this church as the place of official representation in Madrid of the Crown of Aragon, also offering social assistance. After the demolition of the church in 1903, most of the altarpiece was moved to the convent of Santa Isabel, but these huge Solomonic columns, made of Valsaín pine wood, were kept in the Royal Palace in Madrid.
8. The white horse of Velázquez
The white horse shows that, among his many virtues, Velázquez had foresight. This sturdy white horse in bucking position, almost waiting to be ridden, is one of three horses Velázquez left in his studio at the Casa del Tesoro upon his death. Although without a rider, the work was almost finished and possibly awaited the addition of a rider or served as a model for equestrian portraits. It is in fact similar to the horse in the Equestrian Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares in the Prado Museum, but in chestnut.
The work has been identified as Velázquez’s work since 1960, its high technical quality and naturalism demonstrating the painter’s typical skill. And if when you read the title of the painting in your mind you only added “of Santiago” you were not the only one, because later the figure of the saint wielding a sword was added, but in the restoration of 1957 it was removed to leave it in its original state.
9. The Arab wall
During the construction of the museum in which the great works treasured by the Spanish monarchs were to be exhibited, another unexpected legacy was discovered: the oldest remains of Madrid’s ninth-century Arab wall. Specifically, it is a foundational door facing the Manzanares River, documented in drawings from the sixteenth century. Integrated into the museography, these historical vestiges allow us to understand more about the origins of Madrid.
In this treasure, which now takes the form of a room in the Royal Collections Gallery, an audiovisual is projected with a 3D model that reconstructs the walls from the first castle to the present, allowing visitors to contrast this reconstruction with the remains found.
The finding reveals that the door originally had a horseshoe arch with voussoirs, probably painted in white and red, associated with the Umayyad dynasty.
10. Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist
It is difficult for a Caravaggio to leave one indifferent, but Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist is one of those works that alone makes a visit to the Royal Collections Gallery worthwhile. It is a painting with a lot of literature and a theme that has obsessed artists and writers (Flaubert or Oscar Wilde, to name a few): the beheading of St. John the Baptist, with Salome as the central figure.
The painting gives that sense of immediacy, thanks to the fact that while she holds the saint’s head on a silver tray, the executioner still holds the sword in his hand and a maid watches solemnly. Painted during Caravaggio’s exile in Naples, it contrasts the beauty of Salome with the brutality of the scene.
The composition pits Salome’s indifference against the victim’s innocence, showing the executioner without anger, rather with compassion, as does the maid. The painting, one of the most important in the collection of Philip IV, but passed through the hands of several dignitaries before being acquired by Patrimonio Nacional.