CORTE, Juan de la

Spanish painter of Flemish origin. He probably trained in Antwerp, but by 1613 he was in the service of the Spanish crown and his long life was spent in Madrid. He specialized in the painting of landscapes, battle scenes and studies in perspective, genres that had a long tradition in Flanders but not in Spain. His paintings show a consistent style without particular development. Works by him dated between 1623 (Fiesta in the Plaza Mayor, Madrid; Madrid, Museo Municipal) and 1642 (the Destruction of Sennacherib’s Army; Madrid, Museo Cerralbo) adhere faithfully to compositional arrangements in Flemish models of the circle of Sebastiaen Vrancx and Louis de Caullery.

He probably used prints by Hans Vredeman de Vries for the often complex scenes in his architectural perspective paintings and prints by Cornelis Galle I and II, after compositions by Joannes Stradanus, for his frequently repeated battle scenes. His biblical, historical and mythological paintings often form a narrative sequence, such as the series of the History of the Emperor Charles V (London, Spanish Embassy) and the History of the Trojan War (Madrid, Prado; Malaga, El Retiro, private collection). He also painted equestrian portraits against landscapes (untraced), which were admired by his contemporaries.