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The sitter is seated in a landscape to which the artist has given a very prominent role. The artist, son of the painter Juan Antonio Ribera, along with his friend and rival, Federico de Madrazo, were leading figures of the Romantic movement in Spain, as evidenced by this work of precise drawing and brilliant colours.
Double portraits of this type, which were common in the mid-nineteenth century, were generally painted when the son or daughter was presented in society. The mother, depicted as seated, represented an example to the daughter, normally shown standing. In this case the richly furnished room and the sitter`s clothes and jewels indicate the wealthy status of this well-known family of bankers.
This portrait reveals the artist`s assimilation of French models, particularly those of his master, Paul Delaroche (1797-1856), who frequently used an oval format and low viewpoint in order to emphasise the monumentality of the figures. The dark tones of the mother`s dress create a harmonious contrast with the child`s skin tones and the highlights on the meticulously painted curtains and upholster
