The Art of PowerRoyal Armor and Portraits

from Imperial Spain National Gallery of Art

Washington D.C.

Desiderius Helmschmid, German, documented 1513–1579Equestrian Armor of Emperor Charles V, Augsburg, c. 1535–1540 (lance, 16th-19th century) etched, embossed, and gilt steel, brass, leather, fabric (lance: steel and wood) Patrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

The Order of the Golden Fleece

The most prestigious chivalric order was that of the Golden Fleece, founded in 1430 by Philip the

Good, duke of Burgundy, to defend the Christian faith and "exalt the noble order of knighthood."

In the sixteenth century, membership was limited to the sovereign plus fifty knights from royal or

noble families. The order's insignia, a ram's fleece worn suspended from a collar or necklace,

alludes to the mythical quest of the Greek hero Jason to seize the Golden Fleece, guarded by a

dragon on the Black Sea.

Because Jason's success enabled him to regain his rightful place as king of Iolcus in Thessaly,

the Golden Fleece became associated with kingship. One of the principal symbols of power

associated with the Spanish crown since the later 15th century, it appears frequently on the

armor, including the helmet of Philip the Good's great-grandson, Charles V.

Mary is portrayed as the Virgin of Mercy who spreads her cloak

to shelter the faithful from the dangers of sin, symbolized by two

demons hurling arrows. At left, Ferdinand of Aragon and

Isabella of Castile appear with their children and a cardinal. At

right, a group of Cistercian nuns is led by an abbess, probably

Leonor de Mendoza, the cardinal’s sister. She was the founder

of the convent of Las Huelgas in Burgos, which still owns this

altarpiece.

Iberian Peninsula in the 14th c.

Maximilian I

Maximilian I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519, having previously ruled jointly with his father, Frederick III. The Holy Roman Empire arose from the ruins of the Carolingian empire of Charlemagne, which splintered following his death in 814. The eastern portion encompassing the German-speaking lands of central Europe developed into the Holy Roman Empire, which from the 15th century onward was ruled almost exclusively by members of the House of Habsburg. Originally from Switzerland, the Habsburgs governed from Austria after 1278. They began expanding their dominions when Maximilian's marriage to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 brought the Duchy of Burgundy and the Netherlands under Habsburg control. Spain became part of the empire after their son, Philip the Handsome, married the daughter of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1496.Maximilian commissioned works of art and armor that conveyed his imperial status. The monumental woodcut by Albrecht Dürer and his workshop evokes the triumphal arches constructed in ancient Rome in honor of victorious emperors. On either side, scenes of successful battles and dynastic marriages announce Maximilian's military and diplomatic prowess. The central portion depicts a family tree purporting to trace his genealogical descent from Hector of Troy, Julius Caesar, and Clovis, the founder of the French royal dynasty. Maximilian's equestrian armor portraying feats of strength by Hercules and Samson, also presents him as the successor to heroes of antiquity.

Master of the Joseph Sequence, Netherlandish, active c. 1490–1505Philip the Handsome, 1504–1506oil on oak panel

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

The son of Maximilian, Philip was born in the Burgundian Netherlands (modern Belgium), which he had inherited from his mother. After his marriage in 1496 to Joanna ("the Mad"), daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, he became Philip I of Castile, the first Habsburg ruler in Spain. This portrait is the earliest known representation of an armor-clad king of Spain. Philip’s surcoat, worn under his coronation robe and over his armor, bears the arms of the Spanish kingdoms and Burgundy.

Equestrian armor of Maximilian I

Charles VThe grandson of Maximilian and son of Joanna ("the Mad") of Castile, Charles became king of Spain, where he ruled as Charles I, in 1516. Three years later he was elected Holy Roman Emperor, reigning as Charles V from 1519 to 1556. He was then the most powerful man in Europe, with domains extending across central Europe, the Netherlands, Flanders, Burgundy, Spain, the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, enclaves in North Africa, and much of the Americas. Before ascending to the Spanish throne, Charles lived in the Burgundian Netherlands, where he had been born in 1500. Raised there by Maximilian's daughter, he shared his grandfather's preference for German armorers. Charles' patronage of Kolman and Desiderius Helmschmid of Augsburg brought them fame and set a fashion for elegant armor in which smooth surfaces alternate with vertical bands of gilded and engraved decoration. As a result of his conquest of the Duchy of Milan in 1525, Charles also gained access to the renowned workshop of Filippo Negroli, the sole armorer mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Artists of 1550. Charles' lavish commissions made the Royal Armory one of the greatest repositories of German and Italian armor in existence.

Kolman Helmschmid, German, c. 1470–1532Armor of Emperor Charles V, Augsburg, c. 1525etched and gilt steel, leatherPatrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

Armor with a tonlet, or flaring skirt, was designed for combat on foot within an enclosed field, a tournament sport in which swordsmen were awarded points according to the quantity and location of the blows they dealt. Decorated with a hunting scene showing a bear, deer, and wild boar chased by hounds, this ensemble has been known as the "Hunt Tonlet" armor since the sixteenth century.

Anonymous ArtistCharles V at Age Seven with a Sword, c. 1508oil on panelKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Gemäldegalerie

Desiderius Helmschmid, German, documented 1513–1579Helmet of Emperor Charles V, Augsburg, c. 1540Embossed, etched, and gilt steelPatrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

Map of Holy Roman Empire under Charles V

Anonymous NetherlandishCharles V with Raised Sword, second half of the 16th centuryoil on panelPatrimonio Nacional, Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial

ItaIian, 16th CenturyChanfron and Crinet from the Garniture Presented by the Duke of Savoy to King Philip III, Milan, c. 1585etched, embossed, gilt, and gold-damascened steelPatrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, MadridThe chanfron protected the horse's face, while the crinet guarded the back of the neck.

The Mühlberg ArmorOn April 24, 1547, the Catholic forces of Charles V defeated a league of German Protestants at the Battle of Mühlberg, on the Elbe River east of Leipzig. The victory reaffirmed Charles' authority over rebellious German princes seeking not only religious freedom but also greater autonomy from the Holy Roman Empire. The suit of armor Charles wore at Mühlberg as well as parts of the equestrian armor were used on that occasion.An iconic symbol of imperial power, the Mühlberg armor appears in several portraits of Charles V. Shortly after the battle, the emperor's favorite artist, Titian, created two likenesses of him wearing this armor: a monumental equestrian portrait and a full-length standing portrait. The latter work is now lost, but is known from copies by the Spanish artist Pantoja de la Cruz, considered the definitive version of Titian's original.

Desiderius Helmschmid, German, documented 1513–1579The "Múhlberg Armor" of Charles V, Augsburg, 1544etched, embossed, and gilt steelPatrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

Desiderius Helmschmid, German, documented 1513–1579The "Mühlberg Armor" of Charles V, Augsburg, 1544etched, embossed, and gilt steelPatrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid

The Burgundy Cross Armor

Philip II wore this armor at the Battle of Saint-Quentin against the French on August 10, 1557, when he won his first victory as king. The armor's association with triumph led the Netherlandish painter Anthonis Mor to portray the king dressed in part of the suit he wore on horseback "as he sallied forth on the day of Saint-Quentin." The same armor appears in Carreño de Miranda's portrait of Charles II, Philip's great-grandson. Both paintings preserve the armor's original blackened surface, which once set off the gilded decoration, but has worn away over the centuries.Through marriage, Philip inherited the Portuguese crown and rode into Lisbon on a horse partly outfitted in this armor for his coronation as king of Portugal in 1581. The armor for man and horse had been made for him when he was still a prince by his favorite armorer, Wolfgang Grosschedel of Landshut in Bavaria. The decoration includes the insignia of the Golden Fleece, as well as x-shaped crosses alluding to the cross on which Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Burgundy, was crucified. As a result of the marriage of Philip's great-grandfather, Maximilian, to Mary of Burgundy in 1477, the cross became a Spanish royal emblem.

Juan Carreño de Miranda, Spanish, 1614–1685Charles II in Armor, 1681oil on canvasMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid,

The Flower-Pattern Armor

Known since the sixteenth century as the Flower-Pattern Armor, this suit was evidently delivered to Philip II during his extended stay in Augsburg for the imperial Diet. Peter Paul Rubens' equestrian portrait of the king dressed in this armor was commissioned after his death by his grandson Philip IV (reigned 1621–1665). The artist borrowed the pose of the horse and rider from a portrait of Charles V, but replaced the emperor's face and armor with those of Philip II, basing them on a likeness of the king that Titian had painted from life. Unusually, the royal flower-pattern armor also appears in Velázquez's portrait of a member of the high nobility, Juan Francisco Pimentel, count of Benavente, who was awarded the collar of the Golden Fleece in 1648 in recognition of his military service to the king.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish, 1577–1640Equestrian Portrait of Philip II, c. 1630–1640oil on canvasMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish, 1599–1660Juan Francisco Alfonso de Pimentel, Count of Benavente, c. 1648oil on canvasMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Philip IIIAs the youngest of Philip II's four sons, Philip III (1598–1621) was an unlikely successor to the throne. The presumed heir, the mentally unbalanced Don Carlos, died after he was deemed unfit to rule and two brothers did not survive early childhood. The suits of armor here were made for Prince Philip when he was seven, the year he took the oath as Prince of Asturias, the title for the heir apparent. Because that event relieved fears that the Habsburg dynasty in Spain would come to an end, suits of armor that had belonged to the seven-year-old prince took on special significance. Consequently, they appear in his portraits by Justus Tiel and Pantoja de la Cruz, even though Philip was by then older and would have outgrown the armor. He ascended to the throne in 1598 and ruled until his death at the age of forty-three.

Justus Tiel, Flemish, active last third of the 16th centuryAllegory of the Education of Philip III, 1590oil on canvasMuseo Nacional del Prado, MadridBy the time of Justus Tiel's portrait, Philip was twelve years old and could not have posed wearing the armor. Its imagery probably inspired this painting, which also alludes to the virtues expected of a future king. Tiel portrayed the prince attended by a female figure of Justice who hands him scales and a sword, symbolizing prudence and power; the staff, known as a caduceus, representing peace; and a bridle and reins, suggesting moderation and restraint. Behind them, Chronos (Time) pushes blind Cupid aside and Justice forward. The hourglass with a still-empty lower chamber balanced on Chronos' head signifies the prince's youth.

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Spanish, 1553–1608Philip III as a Prince in Armor, c. 1592oil on canvasKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Gemäldegalerie

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Spanish, 1553–1608Philip III in Armor, 1605oil on canvasPatrimonio Nacional, Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial

Royal Armor: The Last Phase

The widespread use of firearms and waning popularity of jousting tournaments caused a steep decline in the production of armor in the seventeenth century. Because the symbolic value of armor outlived its effectiveness in battle, sumptuous examples were still made as diplomatic gifts and appeared in portraits of members of the royal family. Gradually, however, royal armor became dissociated from the rulers for whom it had been made. Rather than projecting an image of their their power, the collection of the Royal Armory became a resource for artists seeking elegant models for the armor they depicted in paintings of non-royal subjects, such as Pedro Núñez del Valle's Jael and Sisera.The Habsburg line in Spain ended in 1700 with the death of Philip IV's son and successor, Charles II. In 1660 Philip's daughter Maria Teresa had married Louis XIV, paving the way for the French House of Bourbon to assume the Spanish throne. Their grandson Philip V was the first of the Bourbon dynasty to rule Spain and the grandfather of Charles III, whose portrait is the last to portray a king of Spain in armor.

Anton Raphael Mengs, German, 1728–1779Charles III in Armor, c. 1761oil on canvasPatrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real de Madrid

Gaspar de Crayer, Flemish, 1584–1669Philip IV with Two Servants, between 1627 and 1632oil on canvasMinisterio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, Madrid

Philip II's daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia, governor of the Spanish Netherlands, sent several sets of opulent armor as a gift to her nephew, Philip IV. For this portrait of the king, Gaspar de Crayer combined features of two different garnitures for artistic effect. He copied the type of armor from one set, but borrowed its decoration of gilded foliage from another.

The End