On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P06711
- Author
- Rosales Gallina, Eduardo (Spanish)
- Title
- The Countess of Santovenia
- Chronology
- 1871
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 163 cm x 106 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- DONACION
- Procedence
- Donation by Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, 1982
María de la Concepción Serrano y
Domínguez was the eldest child of
General Serrano, the Duke of Torre.
She was born in Havana in 1860,
which her father was Commander in
Chief of Cuba. In 1880, she married
the second Count of Santovenia. She
died in 1941 in Biarritz, her
habitual residence.
Rosales' portrait shows a girl of
eleven in a very gracious poise,
secure in her social position at
the moment when her father
exercised his maximum political
power as President of the
Government.
This work was presented at the
National Exhibition of Fine Arts in
1871, where it was surprising
because of its distance from what
had been customary in Spanish
portraits until then. The greater
monumentally which the painter
gives this figure, the perfect
rendering of the qualities of the
textiles and the variations in
tones produced by the highlights
were truly striking.
This is joined by the painter's
knowledge of Spain's pictorial
tradition. And, in fact, the girl
is depicted in a setting that is
very similar to Velasquez's
portrait of Prince Baltasar Carlos
as a Hunter (P1189). Moreover, her
pose recalls certain royal
portraits by Goya.
Location on the map
