Politics and Propaganda in the Sagrada Forma by Claudio Coello

Abstract

Claudio Coello's Sagrada Forma altarpiece in the sacristy of the Escorial represents the last Spanish Hapsburg king, Charles II, adoring a miraculous host. Its symbolic content, however, goes beyond the mere description of an act of eucharistic worship. The original reason for the picture's creation was to serve as an expiatory measure for the sins of a number of courtiers whose intrigues threatened to destroy the stability of the monarchy. Its imagery underlines the strength of Hapsburg piety and its long history of generous art patronage. The Sagrada Forma (1685-1690) was the last major commission given to Coello, who died in 1693.

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