Maximina Martínez de Pedrosa wearing a Black Mantilla
Ca. 1867. Oil on cardboard.Not on display
Among Rosales´s best works as a portrait painter, those he painted of people in his immediate circle are particularly noteworthy. In these works, he was able to develop more intimate interpretations, as in this portrait of his future wife, his cousin Maximina Martínez de Pedrosa. He married her in 1868 and they had two daughters, of whom only one, Carlota, survived. The artist depicts the young woman half-length, practically in profile. She is seated on a chair against a nude, neutral background. She wears a sober black dress and is covered with a mantilla. The artist painted the work on a very delicate support, which could reveal the painting´s very private Destiny.
Mena Marqués, M.; Albarrán, V., Azúa, F. de, La belleza cautiva. Pequeños tesoros del Museo del Prado = La bellesa captiva. Petits tresors del Museo del Prado, Barcelona, Museo del Prado - Obra Social "La Caixa", 2014, p.199
