Distances of pleasant Perspective. Luca Giordano’s pictorial eulogies for Charles II

Abstract

The following text focuses on analysing painter Luca Giordano’s (1632–1705) contribution to inspireCharles II’s monarchy (1660–1700) through several major works that reinforced the new perspective of the realm and the king’s, in El Escorial, the Buen Retiro Palace and the San Antonio de los Alemanes church. By analysing Giordano’s role, it aims to demonstrate how the painter completed the transcendental task of updating the dynasty’s visual discourse during his Spanish decade (1692–1702) transforming the numerous palatial and religious locations in which court ceremonies were held with his fluid compositions.