3-097-681 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ramiro II of León, 1852. Imaginary portrait of Ramiro the Great (900-951), King of León from 931 until 951. (The inscription says he died in 950). He succeeded Ordoño II and preceded Ordoño III. In 1847, José de Madrazo, as director of the Royal Museum, was commissioned by Isabella II to create an iconographic genealogy of all her royal ancestors, the so-called Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain. The project had a clear political purpose: to legitimize the Sovereign's rights during a period characterized by a relentless struggle against female power.