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When describing the work of this prolific painter of still lifes, it is frequently said that Luis Meléndez included only commonplace objects in his canvases; this painting, in fact, offers the exception that proves the rule. Amid the various objects represented here are a porcelain cup and large saucer, or plate, which seem to be East Asian rather than Spanish. Indeed, they may be Cantonese
In addition to the Roemer goblet, other glasses common in this kind of monochrome still life presented here include the Berkemeyer, in this case tipped over and broken, and the delicate Façon-de-Venise wineglass, in fashion at the time and likewise made in the Netherlands. Also featured is an exquisitely decorated silver goblet. Alongside them is a knife with a sheath and an open clock that
The figure of Christ is depicted following the tradition of seventeenth-century Spanish religious painting, although the classical concept of beauty disseminated in Spain by Mengs and Bayeu is also evident. In addition, Goya softened the more cruel and dramatic aspects of this subject, emphasising the beauty of the nude body. The canvas was presented by the artist at the Real Academia de Bellas Ar
This highly original still life presents various oysters in the fore and middle grounds—a relatively infrequent element in Meléndez’s paintings. The foreground is completed by some cloves of garlic and a decorated ceramic plate, probably from Talavera. Behind them, the powerful volume of an enormous copper pot vies for the leading role in this composition. It is tilted, as one edge rests on
Trained from childhood at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, Mariano Sánchez specialized in landscapes and views. Contemporary documents reveal also a talent for miniatures and portraits, which took him to Lisbon in the service of the King of Portugal. In 1781, King Charles III commissioned him to paint a series of 118 vistas of ports, bays, islands, and arsenals in Spain. In 1803, for
This portrait belongs to a series of seven miniatures painted on copper. Unique within Goya’s oeuvre, they depict his son Javier and his relatives by marriage on the occasion of Javier’s marriage to Gumersinda, daughter of the drapers Miguel Martín de Goicoechea and Juana Galarza. This miniature depicts Gumersinda’s sister, Manuela Goicoechea y Galarza.
Luis Meléndez distinguished himself as the greatest bodegón, or still-life, painter in late eighteenth-century Spain. By this time, the popularity of the genre had declined in Spain and was not practiced by any of Meléndez’ contemporaries at court. Even so, Meléndez painted over one hundred bodegones in his lifetime, leading art historians to infer that he took a person
The painting belongs to the type of still life designated by Vroom as monochrome banketjes, pieces first executed by Heda towards the end of the 1620s that became very popular in the Netherlands and abroad, as illustrated by the fact that there were two in the inventory of Rubens´s property. There are sufficient grounds to interpret these compositions as moralising, religious or allegorical works.
Trained from childhood at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, Mariano Sánchez specialized in landscapes and views. Contemporary documents reveal also a talent for miniatures and portraits, which took him to Lisbon in the service of the King of Portugal. In 1781, King Charles III commissioned him to paint a series of 118 vistas of ports, bays, islands, and arsenals in Spain. In 1803, for
This refined portrait is the only one known to date of the Marquis of Esquilache (1699-1785). He accompanied Charles III to Madrid and was appointed Minister of the Treasury. The inkwell and staff of office allude to his many Neapolitan titles, while the letter destined Alla sua maestà delle due Sicilie points to his links with the King.
This composition, that appears unfinished in the lower left corner, was very successful, as six replicas and contemporary copies are known to exist. Paret presents the Botanical Gardens as the backdrop, along with one of the doors designed by Juan de Villanueva in 1781. The Paseo del Prado occupies a broad space filled with a richly garbed crowd that walks and rides carriages. Here, the painter fr
This superb example of the artist's virtuosity at capturing elements with a direct and realistic language can be considered a work from late in his career. A sole lemon in the foreground offsets the group of elements consisting of a slice of fresh salmon and various cooking utensils, including a copper vessel, a pot of the same material and an Alcorcón style jug with a bit of crockery as a lid. A
In the foreground of this painting, a loaf of bread rests on a knife, its foreshortened handle jutting out past the edge of the wooden surface on which the various objects are arranged. Next to it sits a coarse, glazed earthenware jug, which could hold milk or some kind of preserved food. The style of the jug recalls pottery traditionally produced in Alcorcón and Camporreal (towns within the provi
Catalogado a su ingreso en el Museo en 1847 como “retrato de la Sa infanta Da Carlota Reyna de Portugal” de Joaquín Inza (1736-1811), forma parte de un grupo de retratos de infantes y del príncipe Fernando que Arturo Ansón Navarro (2012) identificó la modelo como la infanta María Amalia (1779-1798) de doce años y atribuyó el retrato a Ramón Bayeu por motivos estilísticos y por su relación document
Sobre una tosca mesa de madera, descrita táctilmente con los pequeños detalles de la calidad del material, visibles en nudos y muescas, aparecen desordenadamente situadas unas cuantas “peritas de San Juan” y un pan en segundo término, junto al cual se eleva una alcarraza de loza muy blanca que bien pudiera ser andaluza. Se denomina popularmente “jarra de cuatro picos” y muestra una decoración de i
A portrait of the Duke of Osuna, Pedro Téllez Girón (1755-1807); his wife, the Countess-Duchess of Benavente, Josefa Alonso de Pimentel (1752-1834) and their four children: Francisco de Borja (1785-1820), the following Duke of Osuna; Pedro de Alcántara (1786-1851), the future Prince of Anglona; Maria Manuela (1783-1838) and Joaquina (1784-1851), the future Marchioness of Santa
