Student from Salamanca, 18th century
1880. Oil on canvas.Not on display
There is a smaller replica with similar characteristics executed on the same date (1.75 x 0.80) in the provincial museum of Badajoz. The one belonging to the Prado, of superior quality, was probably the one Megía exhibited at 1880 Salón de Paris under the title of Student from Salamanca, where it achieved some success. An engraving was reproduced on the cover of the Ilustracion Artística de Barcelona on 3 May 1886. It must also be the same work cited by Ossorio under the title A Spanish student from the 17th century, which was known in Madrid. It has traditionally been associated with a loose recreation of the character in the dramatic poem El estudiante de Salamanca (1840) by José Espronceda (1808–1842).
