María and Luisa, the Painter's Daughters

Paret painted this portrait of his daughters -at three and two years old, respectively- on the same copper plate he used for the likeness of his wife Micaela (P3250); the two pictures were later separated. Both portraits are remarkable for their extraordinary technical delicacy. Here, the lush vegetation and the mascaron at the base of a column lend a bucolic air to the setting, in which the girls are playing with a tambourine and a little dog. The highly ornate trompe-l´oeil frame bears an inscription in Latin, reading "María and Luisa, the daughters of Luis Paret, painted in oils by their father".