Considered to be, with good reason, the most beautiful nude in nineteenth-century Spanish painting, this work provides eloquent testimony of the modernity that made Rosales stand out in the Spanish artistic panorama of his time. He would have earned himself a prominent place among the era´s artistic vanguard in Europe if his brilliant career had not been cut short by his premature death. Neither a
This painting was presented at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1866. It depicts the Great Captain´s encounter with the body of his adversary after the famous battle for the control of the Kingdom of Naples, which was fought during the reign of the Catholic Kings. The page, who still holds the body of his dead lord, directs an imploring gaze at the Spanish hero. The painter clearly captures
A portrait of the composer and performer, Héctor Pinelli, a violinist and conductor from a family of music lovers. He appears in elongated profile, turned to the left. In his hands, he holds the violin and bow that brought him such fame. The strong light directed at the model´s face recalls how light was used in seventeenth-century portraits, and that is what brings out the pale tones of hi
Fortuny featured groups of hens in a number of his compositions, as their dynamism, texture and luxuriant colours enriched and enlivened his works. This painting, however, is a study in its own right -a free exercise designed to capture the birds’ light, fast movements rather than intended as a detail of a larger composition.
The beauty of its high peaks attracted numerous landscape painters to the French region of the Dauphinoise. Among them was Haes, who was captivated by this landscape near Provence and the French Alps. In this panoramic view, typical of his early output, he maintains his use of earthy tones and strongly modelled volumes defined by contrasts of light. The canvas was executed in his studio from a pre
These are instantaneous sketches taken directly from nature, here on the coast, in the French countryside, and in the mountains of Picos de Europa. Haes was a moving force in the transformation of landscape painting, bringing a completely new concept of the interpretation of Nature, with a realism that was sensitive to all elements. In all his landscapes, Haes very exactly captures the physical as
As the dedication indicates, this portrait reflects the close friendship between the artist and Eduardo Zamacois (1841-1871), his friend and fellow artist in Paris. Despite the portrait’s restrained, intimate nature, defined by its format and dark tonalities, the sitter is elegantly presented and enlivened by the red of his beret.
Several portraits of Ferdinand VII are attributed to Goya, though only a few have sufficient quality to be considered fully his own work. Furthermore, there is no accurate documentation of the portraits of a monarch who chose Vicente López to be the official portraitist over Goya. It is, however, clearly documented that Goya, as first court painter, did an equestrian portrait that was one o
Although Federico de Madrazo began working in the genre of historical painting, his gifts as an artist promptly led him to portraiture, which he cultivated in all its forms throughout his lengthy career and in which he conspicuously excelled. This portrait of Sofía Vela is one of the best from the artist´s romantic period and is a superb example of the intimate portrait. It was exhibited at
This work shows politician, poet, playwright and tutor to Queen Elizabeth II, Manuel José Quntana (Madrid, April 11, 1772- Madrid, March 11, 1857) on the day of his coronation in the Senate as Illustrious Poet (March 25, 1855).
Michel-Ange Houasse, son of the painter René-Antoine Houasse (c.1645-1710), had enjoyed a long career during the reign of Louis XIV of France (r.1643-1715). From 1715 until his death, Michel-Ange worked in the court in Madrid during the reign of the first Bourbon monarch, Philip V (r.1700-24 and 1724-46), creating interesting landscape paintings, genre scenes, religious paintings and portra
In this work, Fortuny establishes an eloquent link between painting and music and a clear exposition of what his friend, the Baron Davillier, called his very lively and very pure taste in music. Fortuny depicts one of the musical evenings that he attended in Madrid during the summer of 1866 at his friend and former classmate, Catalan painter Francisco Sans y Cabot’s studio at no. 13, calle Flor Ba
Five boys play at riding on each other´s shoulders in the game called “Chicken Fights” or “Horse and Rider” in a setting of hills and woods. This work is one of the cartoons for a series of gay, playful tapestries intended for the bedrooms of the infantas —the daughters of the future Carlos IV (1748-1819) and María Luisa de Parma (1751-1788)— at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid. Goya rec
A successful interpreter of the Neo-classical style, Angelica Kauffmann here offers an elegant image of the sitter, Anna Escher von Muralt (1767 -1830), who belonged to a prominent Swiss family. The subject is depicted sitting in a wooded spot, wearing a fashionable gown of classical inspiration. A circular temple in the background completes this idealised evocation of the ancient world.
Retrato de óvalo, de busto y tres cuartos, con la mirada fija en el espectador y expresión relajada. La mano derecha del retratado sujeta, a la altura del pecho, el vuelo de la capa que lleva echada al hombro izquierdo mostrando un forro rojo, que oculta parcialmente su corbata de lazo sobre camisa blanca.Ricardo Bellver y Ramón era hijo, sobrino y nieto de escultores valencianos; su padre se habí
El retrato representa a un hombre de unos treinta años, de rasgos pronunciados y barba. La atención se concentra en el rostro, que no parece juntarse al cuerpo, vagamente bosquejado debajo. La posición centrada y frontal de la cara en el primer plano produce una impresión de proximidad y confianza, y la pincelada libre y desigual en el vacío del fondo concede al retrato una sensación movida, al ig
María de la Concepción Serrano y Domínguez was the eldest child of General Serrano, the Duke of Torre. She was born in Havana in 1860, which her father was Commander in Chief of Cuba. In 1880, she married the second Count of Santovenia. She died in 1941 in Biarritz, her habitual residence. Rosales´ portrait shows a girl of eleven in a very gracious poise, secure in her social