Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Gerrit van Honthorst

Madrid is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. Madrid is part of the historical landscape of Castile and is located in the middle of the Meseta, the plateau of Castile. The site has been occupied since prehistoric times. The first document about the existence of an established settlement in Madrid dates from the Muslim age. In the second half of the 9th century Umayyad Emir Muhammad I built a fortress here. In 1083, Madrid was conquered by the Kingdom of Castile. In 1309, under Fernando IV, the Assembly of Estates (Cortes) of the Kingdom of Castile was convened for the first time in Madrid. In 1561, Philip II moved the royal court from Valladolid to Madrid. It became the de facto capital of Spain, which it remains to this day. The War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1714 with the Bourbons taking over the Spanish throne. Today's royal palace was built under their rule. Particularly during the reign of Charles III the city's public infrastructure was modernized and numerous public buildings were built. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza The museum is named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza. With over 1,600 paintings, it was once the second-largest private collection in the world. After Baron Thyssen, having unsuccessfully sought permission to enlarge his museum in Lugano, searched for a better-suited location elsewhere in Europe end of the 1980s. In 1985, the Baron had married Carmen "Tita" Cervera and introduced her to art collecting. Cervera's influence was decisive in persuading the Baron to relocate the core of his collection to Spain where the local government had a building available next to the Prado. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum officially opened in 1992, showing 715 works of art. A year later, the Spanish Government bought 775 works for $350 million.These pieces are now in the purpose-built museum in Madrid. After the museum opened, in 1999, Cervera loaned 429 works of her own art collection to the museum for 11 years. The loan was renewed annually for free from 2012. Gerrit van Honthorst / 1592 - 1656 / The Happy Violinist / ca 1624 /

Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (now Lyon) was an important Roman city in Gaul. It was the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. The Christianization took place very early. In 177, the Christian community sent a letter naming 48 of their number who had been martyred. In 843 it was ceded to Lorraine and then passed to the Kingdom of Burgundy, whose dominion was entrusted to the Archbishop of Lyon by Frederick Barbarossa in 1157. In 1312 Philip the Fair incorporated Lyon into the kingdom of France. Lyon was the scene of an urban revolt in 1436 when Charles VII increased taxation. The uprising, mainly of small merchants, lasted a total of two months. During the reign of Louis XI. Four fairs were set up, attracting merchants from all over Europe, especially Italy. Lyon became an important center for the spice trade and, more importantly, the silk trade after François I granted the weaving rights, which until then had been an Italian monopoly. Florentine immigrants also made Lyon a financial center for banking and insurance. - It is often said that the most beautiful cities are located on rivers. Lyon is situated on two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone, which meet in the south of the city. - Until 1792, the Museum of Fine Arts building was an abbey whose abbesses came from high French nobility. Because of the abbey's importance, Louis XIV funded major renovations in the 17th and 18th centuries. As a result of the French Revolution, the nuns were expelled from the abbey, and in 1860, the Palais des Arts was established. The collection was greatly expanded. At the beginning of the 20th century, the collection became larger and more diverse. - Gerrit van Honthorst (1592 - 1656) / Les Chanteurs / The Singers