Lot Essay
Regrettably little documentation has survived concerning Juan de la Corte, who was born in Flanders but already active as a painter in Madrid in 1613. Royal inventories show that he was regularly employed by the Spanish court. He covered a remarkably wide range of subject matter, from religious, biblical and mythological themes and ancient history to battle scenes, landscapes, views of Madrid and portraiture. Palomino describes him as a 'muy buen pintor de países, batallas y perspectivas' and when the artist applied for the position of court painter in 1629 he introduced himself as a painter of architecture and battle scenes.
The present picture formed part of a series of eight scenes of the Trojan War. Soria, loc. cit., recorded in 1961 that all 'eight paintings, 195 x 311, still hang in the stairway [at Finca El Retiro] but are hard to photograph'.
The present picture formed part of a series of eight scenes of the Trojan War. Soria, loc. cit., recorded in 1961 that all 'eight paintings, 195 x 311, still hang in the stairway [at Finca El Retiro] but are hard to photograph'.