On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02875
- Author
- Paret y Alcázar, Luis (Spanish)
- Title
- Masked Ball
- Chronology
- Ca. 1771
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 40 cm x 51 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Acquisition, 1944
A panoramic representation of a
celebration held, perhaps, in the
Prince's Theater in Madrid. The
boxes are filled with people
watching the crowd dancing on the
ground floor, below. They show
various emotions and sentiments,
dancing and flirting to the sound
of music being played by the
orchestra in the main box.
The innumerable figures are
sketched in with clear, rapid
brushstrokes, as was Paret's
custom. The affected rococo style
and the complex composition, with a
low viewpoint, are characteristic
of his earliest works. The fine
brushstrokes and pastel colors help
to suggest the feeling of nocturnal
festivities and the energy of the
crowd.
This was not a commissioned work;
it was painted on the artist's own
initiative, as is explained in the
inscription with which he signs it.
It comes from the collections of
the Infante don Luis and was later
listed among the possessions of the
Marquis of Salamanca.
