Self-portrait
Ca. 1860. Oil on canvas.Room 062A
This is a bust-length portrait of the painter, whose poses against a greyish background. His face, with a broad forehead and wavy hair, seems to be one of about forty years old. He has a moustache and goatee, and he looks at the viewer frowning. Neatly dressed as a perfect gentleman, he fastens his tie with a pearl pin and wraps himself in a black cloak, in which he hides his right hand. Eugenio Lucas rarely painted portraits –whose results were generally quite discreet– except for occasional cases, such as this splendid canvas or the portrait of the artist´s children in the March collection, undoubtedly his masterpiece in the genre.
Lucas did however reveal a certain interest in his own image, although all the known self-portraits are grouped around 1860, as he appears to be of a similar age. This is undoubtedly the best of them all, both for the frankness of his soft and fluffy technique, and for the imposing presence of the painter´s effigy. He wishes to appear before the viewer with a distinguished and distant image, showing in his somewhat rude gesture the superiority of his artistic genius, as well as his energetic and lively character, which so clearly depicts in his work.
Artistas pintados: retratos de pintores y escultores del siglo XIX en el Museo del Prado, Madrid, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Dirección Gener, 1997, p.92
