“The Surrender of Breda”
Today, we have one of the great masterpieces from the Baroque artist, Diego Velázquez.
“The Surrender of Breda”, also known as “Las Lanzas” is an oil on canvas painting by the Spanish Baroque artist, Diego Velázquez. It was made between 1634 and 1635. Velázquez served as the main court painter for King Philip IV during what is known as the “Spanish Golden Age”. Though he is most remembered for the exquisite portraits he painted during his tenure as court artist, he also painted important historical and cultural scenes, such as this piece here.
Ambrogio Spinola was a general of Italian descent who worked for the Spanish crown. On June 5, 1625, during the Eighty Years’ War, Spinola led a contingent of the Spanish military to conquer Breda, a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. It was one of the major achievements of Phillip IV’s reign.
The Eighty Years’ War began circa 1566-1567 by Phillip II of Spain. He was trying to regain control of the part of Netherlands, known as the Habsburg Netherlands, from the Dutch rebels. The Habsburg Netherlands had come under control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. After high taxes and the lack of religious freedom, the new emerging Dutch Republic, which was constituted by nobility and upper-class citizens, tried to regain control of their country.
The capture of Breda was the high mark of Spinola’s career. The Spanish had put the Dutch city of Breda under siege from August 28, 1624, through June 5, 1625. After handing over control of the city, Spinola allowed the city’s leaders and soldiers to leave with their banners, arms, and dignity intact. Spinola forbade his soldiers to disrespect or insult the Dutch in any way, which greatly increased his popularity throughout Europe. He was known to say, “The valor of the defeated is the glory of the victor”.
This painting shows the moment when Justinus van Nassau, the Dutch governor of Breda, surrenders and hands over the city key to Spinola. The Dutch are represented by a small group of soldiers on the left. The Spanish are on the right and are represented by a much larger group with a large number of lances. The Spanish are depicted in a much better state than the Dutch. A soldier from each side looks straight at the viewer. In the background, smoke billows to the sky, showing the destruction from the near year long siege. Spinola’s flag is seen on the right, with the blue checkers and a large red ex, while the Dutch Prince’s Flag is seen behind van Nassau, depicted with white, orange and blue stripes, though it was actually, from top to bottom, orange, white, then blue. Velázquez’s signature can be seen on the piece of paper laying on a rock in the bottom right of the canvas, a design he also used for his “Equestrian Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares”.
This painting was one of twenty made by the most highly regarded Spanish artists of the day to commemorate the military victories of Philip IV. They were commissioned to line the Hall of Realms in the Buen Retiro Palace, near Madrid. Velázquez’s painting was a huge success and is regarded as one of the finest paintings made during the Baroque art period in Spain.
Velázquez personally knew Ambrogio Spinola. The two had traveled to Genoa, Italy together in 1629, a year before the general’s death. Velázquez left Spain between 1629 and 1620 to study art in Italy. Spinola had likely discussed his victory to Velázquez, who thought it a worthy subject for a painting. The accuracy of the depictions of the two generals speaks to Velázquez’s personal relationship with Spinola, who resembles his true likeness, whereas van Nassau does not.
“The Surrender of Breda” is currently in the collections of the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain.
For more on Diego Velázquez, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
