View of Madrid from the Plantío de los Infantes or Madrid Seen from El Pardo

This sweeping landscape captures Madrid as seen from the elevated vantage point of El Pardo, painted by Spanish artist Aureliano de Beruete, who had a particular fondness for depicting the countryside around his native city. The painting shows rolling green fields in the foreground, punctuated by dark clusters of trees, while the distant cityscape of Madrid stretches across the horizon under a vast, cloud-filled sky. You can just make out wisps of smoke rising from the city, a reminder of urban life beyond these pastoral hills.

Beruete was part of the Spanish Impressionist movement and studied under the renowned landscape painter Carlos de Haes. His loose, expressive brushwork and attention to atmospheric effects show the influence of French Impressionism, though his subject matter remained deeply rooted in the Spanish landscape. The painting demonstrates his skill at capturing light and air, with the overcast sky taking up nearly half the composition and casting a soft, diffused glow over the entire scene. It's an honest, unpretentious view that shows both the natural beauty surrounding Madrid and the growing presence of the modern city in the distance.