Page 47 - El arte del poder

y para su hijo, el príncipe Baltasar Carlos, por su hermano, el cardenal-infante don Fernando de Austria (1609-1641), gober- nador de Milán, de los Países Bajos y comandante en jefe de las fuerzas españolas en la Guerra de los Treinta Años (1618- 1648), enfrentamiento entre las principales potencias europe- as a partir de una cuestión religiosa que derivó hacia la bús- queda de un equilibrio en el continente. En este periodo se enmarca la victoria en 1634 sobre las fuerzas protestantes en la batalla de Nördlingen, lideradas por Gustav Horn y Ber- nardo de Weimar, que supuso el fin del periodo sueco en la Guerra de los Treinta Años y el control del suroeste de Ale- mania por los imperiales. La espada de Bernardo de Weimar fue tomada como trofeo por el cardenal-infante, tras cuya muerte ingresó en la Real Armería en 1643. Fue el último tro- feo de la Casa de Austria enviado a la Real Armería como colección que atesoraba la gloria militar de la dinastía y los objetos más directamente vinculados a los hechos relaciona- dos con su poder político.
A pesar de la importancia de los reinados de Felipe III y Felipe IV, llama la atención que las armerías de ambos reyes no destacaron por contener un elevado número de armaduras para su servicio personal, lo cual contrasta con la gran impor- tancia numérica que tuvieron en el retrato de corte de sus res- pectivos reinados. Este hecho permite pensar que primaba más el interés por sus connotaciones simbólicas que el ejercicio de las armas, de la misma manera que sus armerías estaban com- puestas fundamentalmente por regalos de marcado carácter político y algunas adquisiciones movidas sobre todo por su demostrado afán coleccionista en otros campos.
The last significant group of holdings is the arms associated with Archduke Albert of Austria (1559-1621), governor of the Netherlands from 1598 to 1621. A nephew of Philip II, he was married to his cousin Isabella Clara Eugenia. From his death until 1633 responsibility for governing the Spanish Netherlands fell to his wife, who sent Philip IV two sumptuous gifts in 1624 and 1626, consisting of six suits of armor which are among the last objects of outstanding quality to be produced before armor fell into disuse (cat. 64). Philip IV also received a valuable gift for himself and his son Prince Baltasar Carlos from his brother, the Cardinal-Infante Don Ferdinand of Austria (1609-1641), governor of Milan and the Netherlands. Ferdinand was commander in chief of the Spanish forces in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) which erupted between the leading European powers over a religious issue and led to the pursuit of a balance of power on the continent. These years witnessed the victory at the battle of Nördlingen of 1634 over the Protestant forces led by Gustav Horn and Bernard of Weimar, putting an end to the Swedish period in the Thirty Years War and securing control of southeast Germany for the imperial forces. The sword of Bernard of Weimar was seized as a trophy by the Cardinal-Infante, following whose death it was incorporated into the Royal Armory in 1643. This was the last trophy of the House of Austria to be sent to the Royal Armory as a collection representing the dynasty’s military glory and housing the objects most directly linked to the events that shaped its political power.
Despite the importance of the reigns of Philip III and Philip IV, it is striking that neither of their armories was notable for containing a large number of armors for their personal use, even though many were depicted in court portraits dating from their respective reigns. This suggests that interest in the symbolic connotations of armor prevailed over its usage in warfare, just as the armories of these monarchs were comprised chiefly of markedly political gifts and a few acquisitions stemming mainly from their documented collecting zeal in other fields, above all painting and the decorative arts.
46 la real armería en el contexto de la historia de españa entre los siglos xv y xvii