Heraldic panel with family shields of the couple Hortensia del Prado and second husband Peter Courten, 1625

Executed in oil on canvas, the panels employ a flat, decorative approach typical of early‑17th‑century Spanish heraldic portraiture. Bold, saturated pigments render the colors of the arms, while the figure is rendered with modest modeling, emphasizing the symbolic rather than the naturalistic. The composition relies on clear outlines and stylized foliage to convey status and lineage.

Created in 1625, the piece was likely commissioned to mark Hortensia del Prado’s second marriage to Peter Courten. The work remained in the family’s private collection for several generations before entering a public museum collection in the late 20th century, where it is now displayed as an example of marital heraldic art.

Heraldic panels such as this were common in Iberian noble households, serving both decorative and documentary purposes. The inclusion of specific charges—lion, ram, dog, trefoils—reflects the codified language of arms that communicated lineage, alliances and property rights within the social hierarchy of the period.