Spanish, 'Landscape with Figures', 17th century

This sketchily painted landscape is dotted with groups of figures in seventeenth-century Spanish dress. They are surrounded by trees that frame the composition and a mountain range can be seen in the background. We are not certain where the scene is set, although it may be the forest of the Palace of El Pardo, north-west of Madrid. This palace had vast hunting grounds, which are probably represented in Velázquez’s Philip IV hunting Wild Boar (La Tela Real). The five figures and a mule in the foreground were copied from this picture, although they appear less detailed. There are two further groups of people and two men on horseback, one partly hidden among the trees. It is not obvious what connects these figures but their ornate costumes indicate their noble status.

This painting was thought to be by Velázquez when the Gallery acquired it in the 1860s for a modest sum similar to that paid for Velázquez’s early masterpiece Christ in the House of Martha and Mary.