The Sculptor Ricardo Bellver
1869. Oil on canvas.Room 062A
This is an oval, three-quarter-length portrait that depicts the sculptor with his gaze fixed on the viewer and his expression relaxed. At chest level, his right hand holds the cape over his left shoulder, with a red lining that partially conceals his bow tie over a white shirt.
Ricardo Bellver y Ramón was the son, nephew, and grandson of Valencian sculptors. His father had settled in Madrid, where Ricardo was born in 1845. Particularly notable among his works is The Fallen Angel of 1878 (Museo del Prado, E727), a bronze sculpture in Madrid´s Retiro Park. He died in Madrid in 1924 and was one of the leading Spanish sculptors of his generation. The artist and the sculptor were companions, youthful friends and even brothers-in-law, and both would win – in Bellver´s case the only one –first medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid in the same edition of 1878.
This portrait is a youthful work, earlier than most of the more famous paintings by Ferrant. He was Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid from 1903 until his death in 1907. It is a beautiful portrait that shows a refined realism, far removed from the rigidity that characterised official portraits. In this case, these official portraits conceptually have nothing to do with the present work, due to the close personal relationship between the two artists. It is, however, a work executed with the marked correctness with which the academic Ferrant would always resolve his oil paintings, unlike his sketches, which are much fresher and bolder. The background deserves a special mention, as it is complete vague. However, the painter uses a subtle play of light and shadow that wisely enhances the figure that stands out against it.
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.128
