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EELHZQJJEZ

October 16, 1636. In Spain, hunting was the recognised royal pastime.
The early kings of Castile and Leon made frequent expeditions to the large
tract of wooded country lying about six miles north of Madrid, in which
stood the village of El Pardo, so often mentioned in the annals of royal
sport. At El Pardo (not to be confounded with the Prado, the public
pleasance of the Madrilenos under the Philips, as it still is) stood an
ancient hunting-seat, restored and enlarged by Charles V. About half
a mile from this Charles also built a tower, as an occasional halting-place
on his expeditions to Balsain. To this tower Philip IV. made large
additions, turning it into a hunting-box, where he lodged with his
suite and his guests on all great sporting occasions. For such a retreat,
hunting-scenes were the obvious decoration. They were by no means
novelties in Spain, where this branch of art had long been cultivated.
Flemish artists had been in the habit of painting pictures of the kind
for Spanish princes, and Pieter Snayers, in particular, had executed
several for Philip IV. ’s brother, the Cardinal-Prince Fernando. When,
however, it was resolved to commemorate some special occasion, and
local accuracy was a sine qua non, native artists had of course to be
employed.
As may be supposed, the king was anxious that certain red-letter
days in the annals of his favourite pastime should be immortalised by
his favourite painter. On these large compositions Velazquez seems to
have bestowed unusual pains, making experimental sketches for the
groups of spectators. These, no doubt, were recognisable portraits
when painted. It is not impossible that the famous group of thirteen
gentlemen in the Louvre is one of these sketches, although, personally,
I have very strong doubts as to its being the work of Velazquez at all.
This, however, is part of a question that must be left for future discus-
sion. At present all that need be said is that the most important picture
in this connection is the Boar Hunt of the National Gallery. The hunt,
or, to be more accurate, the boar-baiting, occurs in a glade of the Pardo.
The flat bottom of the little valley is artificially enclosed in the manner
of an amphitheatre. On these occasions a circular space was, in fact,
walled in by a double partition of canvas fixed to stakes and bars. The
quarry was decoyed by food through an opening which was securely
barred when enough animals had been entrapped to afford good sport.