Las tres vidas del conde duque de Olivares

Manuel Rivero Rodríguez immerses us in the world of Baroque political propaganda through three biographies of the Count-Duke of Olivares—works commissioned and overseen by the royal favorite himself to shape his public image during the reign of Philip IV, and which evolved alongside his political fortunes: from Juan Antonio de Vera y Zúñiga’s *Fragmentos históricos* (1628), presenting a modest and approachable Olivares during his early years in power; through Virgilio Malvezzi’s *Retrato del privado cristiano político* (1635), portraying him as an exemplary statesman during a period of apparent success; to the desperate *Nicandro* (1643), a final attempt to defend his reputation following the disasters in Catalonia and Portugal that precipitated his downfall.