Splendor, Myth, and Vision

Handsomely designed and produced, this stunning book highlights sensual paintings from the Spanish royal collections of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Many of the featured artists were court painters under sovereigns whose tastes influenced the art world of the 16th and 17th centuries. This superb selection of twenty-eight paintings includes works by Jan Breughel, Guercino, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velazquez. Included is Titian's Reclining Venus with Cupid and a Musician, probably painted by the artist for Charles V, and several works by Rubens, who painted a considerable number of works for the Spanish court. Informative catalogue entries accompany an essay by Javier Portus on the Spanish royal taste in collecting and the role of painting within European politics of the day and a contemporary response to understanding the nude in Renaissance and Baroque painting by Jill Burke.