17th-Century Madrid

Timeline

1. 1651–1656Alcázar Palace, Madrid · MadridIn the 1650s Madrid's court culture reached its peak. Philip IV resided in the Alcázar Palace handling affairs of state, the Buen Retiro Palace hosted grand theatrical performances and festivals, and Velázquez served as court painter, completing his masterpiece Las Meninas in 1656. The city attracted diplomatic envoys and artists from across Europe, becoming the last brilliant stage of Spanish Golden Age culture.
2. 1651Alcázar Palace, Madrid · MadridIn February 1651 the Alcázar Palace caught fire, damaging parts of the palace buildings and destroying a large number of royal paintings and documents. The fire reflected the Habsburg dynasty's internal troubles: under the financial pressure of foreign wars, the court lacked funds for upkeep, repairs were slow, and urban infrastructure long suffered from underinvestment.
3. 1657–1660Madrid · CastileAfter the Treaty of the Pyrenees the pressure of foreign wars on Madrid eased somewhat, but the city economy was still hit by fiscal austerity: noble mansions stood increasingly vacant, artisan workers emigrated out, and periodic outbreaks of plague and famine caused population growth to stagnate. Calderón de la Barca continued to write religious and mythological plays for the court, but investment in court culture had been drastically cut and the Golden Age's cultural prosperity began to fade.