Moorish King Hands Over the Keys of Seville to San Fernando
Do you know why this Muslim-themed painting circulated in the American context? Join us and discover this and other details.
By Colonial Museum
Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos (atribuido)
Moorish King Gives the Keys from Seville to Saint Ferdinand. (Siglo XVII) by Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y CeballosColonial Museum
1492, the year of the arrival of the Spaniards in America, was the same in which the Muslims were definitively expelled from the Kingdom of Granada. In this context, the most important character for his contribution to this cause was King Ferdinand III, the Saint.
On the right side of this canvas, we see him portrayed in his role as a knight King. This military, political and spiritual leader had a decisive role in the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. His most important feat on the battlefield was the victory in the city of Seville.
Seated on a horse, he wears armor, a golden cloak on his shoulders, a scepter in one of his hands, and a crown. A halo surrounds his head, emphasizing in this way his holy nature.
In colonial art it was common to represent several scenes on the same canvas. This gave the image a certain narrative character, making possible, in this way, its easy interpretation. One of the events narrated here is the apparition of the Virgin before the King.
According to legend, before the battle the king dreamed that Mary offered him the conquest of Seville if he showed devotion to the Virgin of Antiquity. Ferdinand fulfilled this condition, and also commissioned, after winning, a statue of what would be the Virgin of the Kings.
Venerated today in the Cathedral of Seville, it’s this Marian invocation what we see represented on the left side. The following phylactery accompanies the image: "[illegible] will be given you and your duties will end", alluding to the condition the King had to fulfill to win.
Towards the bottom of the image the Muslim King Axataf presented himself to Ferdinand III, holding a silver platter. On it he delivers the keys of Seville. This gesture would symbolize the victory of Castile and Aragon and of the Catholic religion over the Muslim people.
The ancient city of Seville stands at the bottom of the composition. This place is recognized by the Giralda, an old Muslim minaret of the cathedral of Santa María de la Sede, transformed into a Catholic bell tower in the 16th century.
The subject of this painting was brought to the American context. Here colonization was understood as a struggle against heretics. Thus, in the lower segment we see an army with war banners, symbols of the importance of the militia and the Spanish monarchy in evangelization.
Créditos
MUSEOS COLONIAL Y SANTA CLARA
Museum Director
María Constanza Toquica Clavijo
Museology
María Alejandra Malagón Quintero
Curation
Anamaría Torres Rodríguez
María Isabel Téllez Colmenares
Collection Management
Paula Ximena Guzmán López
Editorial
Tanit Barragán Montilla
Communications
Jhonatan Chinchilla Pérez
