3-097-643 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Chintila, Visigothic King, 1855. Chintila (died 639 CE) was king of the Catholic Kingdom of Toledo, King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He rests his hand on the book of the Sixth Council of Toledo, convened by him on 6 January 638. The inscription refers to the Toledo basilica of Santa Leocadia, where the Fifth Council of Toledo (636), also convened by him, was held. Chintila is depicted standing, in what is likely a religious interior. Behind the altar is a cross reminiscent of Asturian pre-Romanesque metalwork. He wears a crimson tunic and a white mantle. 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 project had a clear political purpose: to legitimize the sovereign's rights during a period characterized by a relentless struggle against female power. A considerable number of contemporary artists, both established and emerging, were involved in the commission, but almost all were associated with José de Madrazo 's circle of patrons.