A boy in military uniform
Ca. 1765. Oil on copperplate.Not on display
In spite of the head that is disproportionate to the body, this portrait of a young cadet presents a correct outline and a great expressiveness, characteristics that define the portraits made between 1766-1800. During those years, the ‘retraticos’ (small portraits) had become unfashionable and had lost their function as official portraits that they held since 1550-1600 and now performed by the portrait miniature. Nevertheless, because of tradition they were still being produced until mid-19th century.
Espinosa Martín, Carmen, Las miniaturas en el Museo del Prado: catálogo razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2011, p.29
