View of Madrid from the River Manzanares
1908. Oil on canvas.Not on display
This painting is an example of Beruete´s paintings of scenes from around Madrid, many of which have the Manzanares river as their protagonist. While water occupies more than half of the canvas, the city is recognizable at the top. The huge volume of the Royal palace is visible, along with the red silhouette of the steeple of the New Church of Santa Cruz and the domes of other churches, such as San Andrés and San Francisco el Grande. Washhouses, picnic spots, mills and inns suggest everyday life in Madrid. This work is a magnificent example of the characteristics of Beruete´s mature style, in which his proximity to French impressionism stands out. It reveals the artist´s concern to capture the quality of light and its play of colors, thus achieving spectacular effects in the reflections on the river´s water. The brushstrokes are very free, with a lot of paint and a rapid, nervous application. This painting was donated by the painter´s widow, María Teresa Moret, to the National Museum of Modern Art in 1922. That museum´s collection was later absorbed by the Prado Museum.
