The scene of the royal favourite: the Count-Duke of Olivares and the Buen Retiro Palace

Keywords: Count-Duke of Olivares, Buen Retiro Palace, Philip IV, royal favourites, collecting

Abstract

The Buen Retiro Palace was one of the great symbols of the “Valimiento” of the Count-Duke of Olivares, as well as one of the great constructions and decorative enterprises of the reign of Philip IV. Begun to build discreetly from 1629, on this royal site the Spanish royal favourite concentrated a good part of his energies and the numerous resources that were within his reach with the aim of creating a great stage in which the majesty of Philip the Great shine in multiple ways. Thanks to new unpublished material, we will delve into how Don Gaspar de Guzmán used the royal site that so much admired courtiers and ambassadors from all over Europe to exercise and strengthen his worth by exalting the figure of Philip IV and the House of Austria and linking to his fame and power, his name and that of his lineage.

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Published
2020-11-16
How to Cite
Simal López M. (2020). The scene of the royal favourite: the Count-Duke of Olivares and the Buen Retiro Palace. Cuadernos de Historia Moderna, 45(2), 565-601. https://doi.org/10.5209/chmo.72544