ABSTRACT
On August 10 of 1557, the feast day of Saint Lawrence, the armies of Philip II of Spain scored a major victory against the French at the Battle of Saint-Quentin, and the king vowed to erect a great monastery dedicated to that saint in thanks for his protection. In 1563, in compliance with that vow, he set the foundation stone for the royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in the mountains of the Guadarrama, the immense, stark edifice that so fittingly stands as a symbol of his reign. The building and decoration of the palace-monastery were to be the largest artistic project undertaken in Spain during the sixteenth century, and the execution of its vast decorative program brought together some of the best Spanish painters of the time.
