3-097-627 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Don Favila, King of Asturias, c1853. Imaginary portrait of Favila (died 739) who was the second monarch of the Kingdom of Asturias, elected after the death of his father, Pelayo. In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís. He is thought to have been killed by a bear while on a hunt. This work is part of the Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain, a museum project conceived in 1847 by José de Madrazo to adorn four of the new rooms of the Royal Museum of Paintings, then under his direction. Amidst the conflict between the supporters of Isabella II and the Carlists - who denied the sovereign's right to the throne because of her gender - she endorsed the initiative to create and exhibit a gallery of portraits representing, in chronological order, all the monarchs who preceded her. To fill the gap regarding the medieval kings, of whom there were no images in the Royal Collections, portraits were commissioned from several young painters.