Charles V (1500–1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and King Charles I of Spain. Following his abdication in 1556, Charles retired to the monastery of San Jeronimo de Yuste in Spain. He is depicted holding rosary beads and a bible to underline his Catholicism and wears the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order, around his neck. From the 1830s history painting became a new trend in Victorian art, peaking between 1840 and 1870 in terms of production and public interest.