2024-10-23 09:51:00
Him Ministry of Culture acquired through a direct sale offer for the Prado collection the work ‘The procession of the giants in Brussels on 31 May 1615‘, by the Brussels painter Davide novelistsfor an amount of € 504,450 euros. This oil on canvas, of particular artistic, anthropological and historical interest, was commissioned byDukes of Austria Alberto and Isabella Clara Eugeniaimportant patrons of early 17th-century Europe, whose service and support of the arts contributed to the cultural flourishing of the era.
The painting, dated 1616 and with a size of 118 by 237 centimetresis part of a series of eight paintings which represent the celebrations organized in 1615 in Brussels on the occasion of procession of Our Lady of Sablónfounded by the Grand Serment (or Crossbowmen’s Guild), one of the most prestigious guilds in Brussels. The entire group was sent to Spain by the archdukes to the king Philip IIIbrother of the infanta, and in the inventory of the Alcázar of Madrid of 1636 each of the scenes is described, including the one narrated in this work: «The fourth, twelve feet long and of the same height [que el cuadro anterior]in which are the four giants and four giants who were brought out to this festival, and there is a figure of a very large horse covered in black and above it four armed men with their swords drawn and in the shower covered three cloaks of weapons.
Of the eight works, only six are preserved at the moment. Two belong to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and, with the addition of David Noveliers’ “The Procession of the Giants in Brussels on 31 May 1615”, there are now four in the Prado. The other three are “Ommegang Festival in Brussels: Procession of the Corporations”; “Ommegang Festival in Brussels: procession of the Madonna of Sablón”; and “Festival of Our Lady of the Forest,” all of them Denis van Alsloot.
The popular and religious festivals that were organized around the procession of Our Lady of Sablon in Brussels had lost importance since their heyday in the 16th century. However, on 15 May 1615, Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia (daughter of Philip II and ruler of the Southern Netherlands as sovereign princess together with her husband Archduke Albert of Austria), participated in the annual shooting championship framed this holiday season. The infanta managed to shoot down the bird (“the parrot”) placed on the spire of the tower of Nuestra Señora de Sablón, was proclaimed queen of the brotherhood and the celebrations continued for several days, thus recovering the lost splendor.
These celebrations were an opportunity for the archdukes to reaffirm their sovereignty over the Netherlands and the ties that united them to the people and, at the same time, strengthen the presence of the Spanish monarchy in this territory. To document what happened, they commissioned the eight paintings from several of their court painters, including Denijs van Alsloot and David Noveliers. Once finished, the archdukes sent the paintings to Philip III and they became part of the royal collection, being placed in the Alcázar of Madrid. Finally, the series was dispersed at the end of the 17th century.
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