Maria Christina of Austria, Queen consort of Spain and her children (sketch)
1886. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This work is a sketch for an unfinished allegorical portrait of the Royal Family of which several fragments are still preserved. Created using stains of colour, it is fresh and spontaneous; exhibiting an interesting grouping of figures and an excellent use of light.
The centre of the composition is occupied by the widowed Maria Christina of Austria (1858–1929) holding the baby Alfonso XIII (1886–1941). Both seem to be looking at a large canvas, the child held with his back to the viewer on the left side of the painting. The figures emerge from a black background illuminated by a beam of light coming from an opening in the sky and moving diagonally, above which appear the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child and a court of angels. In the background, in the semi-darkness, other figures can be seen. These are likely to be the Infantas, Alfonso XIII´s sisters.
Quiroga Figueroa, María, Museo do Prado. Os depósitos no Museo Provincial de Lugo, Lugo, Museo Provincial de Lugo, 2011, p.146-50
