Title

Cardinal-infant Ferdinand at the Battle of Nördlingen

Author

Rubens, Peter Paul [workshop of]

Siegen, 1577 - Antwerp, 1640

Typology

School

Century

Technique

Support

Observations

This monumental canvas, conserved at the Monastery of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, is attributed to Rubens’s workshop, based on an original by the master, depicting Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand at the Battle of Nördlingen. The work reproduces the composition of the original painting, now housed at the Museo del Prado (inv. 1687), which celebrates the victory of the Cardinal-Infant over the Swedish and German Protestant armies at the Battle of Nördlingen on September 6, 1634.

Ferdinand of Austria, clad in armor and wearing a broad-brimmed hat, is shown on horseback in a heroic and triumphant pose, facing left. This painting honors one of his greatest military victories, portraying him as an instrument of divine vengeance, supported in this task by the imperial eagle, a symbol of the alliance between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg armies that made the victory possible.

Rubens’s work draws on an older and similar composition, the Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV painted in 1628. However, unlike the latter, where the horse takes a dynamic and diagonal posture, Ferdinand's horse is more static, with a more balanced and symmetrical pose. This stylistic choice gives the portrait a calmer, more rigid effect, though still powerful. Moreover, unlike Philip IV, who points with his finger, Ferdinand simply rests his right hand on his baton of command, emphasizing his dignity as well as a certain restraint in action.

The original painting was likely commissioned by Philip IV around 1635, after the Battle of Nördlingen and in the context of Ferdinand's triumphant entry as governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Although it was completed after Rubens’s death in 1640, this portrait reflects the close connection between the artist and the Spanish court. Indeed, the work was purchased directly from Rubens's studio in 1641 by Miguel de Olivares, possibly on behalf of King Philip IV, and was mentioned in Spanish court inventories as early as 1666. The copy at the monastery also comes directly from Rubens's workshop, but the circumstances of its arrival in Spain remain unknown.

Currently, the monumental canvas is displayed in the gallery surrounding the main courtyard of the monastery (November 2024).

Related links

Bibliography

• A. García Sanz and M.L. Sánchez Hernández (2009): Guide: Royal convents of Madrid: las Descalzas reales and la Encarnación, Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, p. 38.
• H. Vlieghe (ed) (1987): Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, vol. XIX, nº 2, Nationaal Centrum voor de Plastische Kunsten van de XVIde en de XVIIde Eeuw, Antwerp, pp. 82-84, il. cat. 93.
• J.J. Garcés (1969): El museo madrileño de las Descalzas Reales, Prensa Ibérica, Madrid, p. 85.

Locations

• Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, Madrid (Spain)