MADRID, SPAIN.- The Museo del Prado presents The Palace of the Planet King - Philip IV and the Buen Retiro, on view through November 27, 2005 and curated by Andrés Úbeda de los Cobos. Scholarly advisers: Jonathan Brown and John Elliott. Timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the birth of Philip IV (1605-1665), known as “The Planet King”, the Museo del Prado is devoting an exhibition to the Buen Retiro Palace. This was the principal building constructed during Philip’s reign and an eloquent symbol of his fame as promoter of the arts. As a tribute to the figure of the king as patron and collector, the exhibition recreates for the first time the original arrangement of the paintings that were hung in the famous Salón de Reinos or “Hall of Realms” in the Palace (with Velázquez’s The Surrender of Breda as the key work). Also presented for the first time are other important series created for the decoration of this royal residence, namely the “Ancient Rome Cycle” and the “Classical Landscapes Gallery”.

The exhibition features 62 works, mainly from the Museum’s own collection, as well as major loans such as The Riding Lesson of Prince Baltasar Carlos by Velázquez (private collection, United Kingdom), and The Court Jester Calabazas, by the same artist (Cleveland Museum of Art). THE PALACE OF THE PLANET KING is the first exhibition to look at the main cycles of paintings that adorned the Buen Retiro Palace. This huge architectural complex was constructed during the reign of Philip IV on the initiative of his favourite, the Count Duke of Olivares, whose intention was to build it to the greater glory of the Planet King. This was the title by which Philip IV was known in panegyrics of the period, associating him with the Sun, the fourth ‘planet’ in the hierarchy of the stars (thus referring to Philip as the fourth Spanish monarch of that name).

The project for the pictorial decoration of the Buen Retiro Palace was one of the most important artistic endeavours of the day, the most complex undertaken by a Spanish monarch and unparalleled in Europe. In less than ten years (between 1634 and 1643), and mainly through commissions ordered by representatives of the monarchy in Rome, Naples, Antwerp and Madrid, Philip IV assembled an impressive collection of “modern” art, with works specifically destined for the new royal residence. These included paintings by artists of the stature of Velázquez, Ribera, Poussin, Lanfranco and Domenichino, among others.

Promoted by the Count Duke of Olivares as the building which represented the Spanish monarchy, at a time when it still seemed that Spain would emerge triumphant from the various wars in which it was engaged, the Buen Retiro Palace would ultimately come to symbolise the most positive aspect of the reign of Philip IV. Despite the fact that its construction coincided with a period in which the military and international situation (the Thirty Years War) began to turn in favour of France and its allies (in addition to a series of defeats which ended with Spain losing its pre-eminent position in Europe), the decoration of the Palace and its active role as a theatre and a setting for dazzling court spectacles, further promoted the Spanish Golden Age and contributed to Philip’s fame as a patron of the arts.

As a result of the damage which the building suffered during the Peninsular War, the only parts of the Palace that now survive are the Casón del Buen Retiro and the north wing of the Main Courtyard. The latter housed the Hall of Realms and is now the Army Museum. Fortunately, the remarkable ensemble of more than 800 paintings which decorated the Palace – the true glory of the Buen Retiro– enjoyed a better fate, as the majority entered the collection of the Museo del Prado. This has meant that they have been the subject of recent research and has facilitated the organisation of the present exhibition.
The Hall of Realms

The most important section of the exhibition is a recreation of the Hall of Realms. Given that this was the reception room for princes and ambassadors, the greatest effort was expended on this part of the building. In line with its importance, the Hall was required to convey the power and glory of the Empire more than any other room in the Palace. For this reason, Philip IV and the Count Duke summoned the leading Spanish artists of the day to work on its decoration.

Shown for the first time together in this section and following their original hanging, are the three series that formed part of the room’s decoration. These are the 11 paintings now surviving from the set of 12 commemorating the military victories of Philip’s reign, among them The Surrender of Breda by Velázquez and The Recapture of Bahía by Juan Bautista Maíno; the first equestrian portraits of the royal family, also by Velázquez; and the paintings of the “Ten Labours of Hercules” by Zurbarán.

In displaying this impressive ensemble of paintings created for the Hall and shown as Philip IV would have seen them from his throne, located on the east wall of the original Hall (corresponding to the entrance area of this section), the Museo del Prado intends to pay tribute to a monarch whose passion for art and collecting accounts for the presence of many of the masterpieces in the Museum’s collection.

In addition, the exhibition brings together the main pictorial cycles that decorated the Palace, and emphasises once more the concept of the series that lies behind their conception and the way they were originally seen in the 17th century. These include a number of practically unknown works, including most of the paintings for the “Ancient Rome cycle”, by some of the leading Italian artists of the day, such as Lanfranco and Domenichino, on display to the public for the first time following meticulous restoration.

In addition, the exhibition features a section comprising paintings that were not part of any particular series but whose importance merits inclusion. These include four portraits of court jesters by Velázquez and two “Furies” by Ribera, in addition to a selection of some of the finest classicising landscapes of the 40 which originally made up the Landscapes Gallery in the Palace, with works by Poussin and Claude Lorraine.
The Catalogue

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition, published in Spanish and English, includes a text by John Elliott on the reign of Philip IV; two by Jonathan Brown, on Philip IV as a patron and collector, and on the construction of the Buen Retiro Palace; by José Álvarez Lopera, Chief Curator of Spanish Painting at the Museo del Prado, on the various hypothesis of the original decoration and hanging of the Hall of Realms; by Andrés Úbeda de los Cobos, curator of the exhibition, on the Ancient Rome cycle; and by Giovanna Capitelli, art historian specialised in the history of Roman landscape painting, on the collection of landscape paintings at the Buen Retiro. The entries on the exhibited works are by a number of the above authors, as well as by Javier Portús, Leticia Ruiz, Juan J. Luna and Alejandro Vergara, all curators at the Museum, and by Gabriele Finaldi, Associate Director for Conservation and Research at the Museo del Prado.
The structure of the exhibition

The exhibition is organised into five sections, which together present the various decorative cycles created for the Buen Retiro Palace.

1. The Buen Retiro Palace: The exhibition opens with panoramic views of the exterior of the Palace. The key work in this section is the portrait of Philip IV, subject of the exhibition and known in his day as the “Planet King” due to the association made between the monarch and the sun.

2. The Ancient Rome cycle: This series, never previously exhibited in its entirety, depicts the customs and traditions of Ancient Rome. T