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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
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.
Fortuny’s predilection for beautifully colored and very carefully painted panels is perfectly exemplified by the present work, which reveals his mastery of tableautin, a type of painting that garnered considerable commercial success for artists such as Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891), although the latter’s execution was much more meticulous and drawn. The Orientalist genre was also the ob
The sketch, almost schematic character of this composition makes this one of the most attractive bullfighting scenes ever painted by Fortuny. It offers a panoramic view of a bullring -probably in Madrid- in which the powerful contrast of light between the part in the sun and the part in the shade is outstanding. The painter treats the hustle and bustle of the spectators as an undefined mass, with
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
Universally considered the most emblematic painting of Spanish 19th-century realist landscape, this spectacular panorama of Picos de Europa is also Carlos de Haes absolute masterpiece. He painted it at the height of his career, with the confidence and ease of his most refined style. It is thus the maximum example of the powerful transformation that this great master of Belgian origin effected in l
This is one of Meifrén’s views of Paris, where he spent various periods from the late 1870s onwards. It depicts a café on the Place de Clichy near Montmartre. It predates the depictions of such subjects by other Catalan artists including Santiago Rusiñol and Ramón Casas, while the truncated, angled position of the table in the foreground reveals the influence of the rec
Fortuny enjoyed painting flowers in bloom in his scenes. Attracted by their colours, he also made separate studies of them. His favourites were hollyhocks on account of their pleasing hues and the elegant verticality of their stalks, which is accentuated by the format used here. As the background is devoid of references, their corollas appear to float in an indeterminate space, with varying degree
Jiménez Aranda sets this scene of believers paying penance inside the well-known medieval basilica of Assisi, in Italy. Some of them carry large crosses and drag chains, while others pray at an altar, or chat with other characters dressed in eighteenth-century clothing. The subject clearly alludes to Goya´s abundant paintings of religious festivities. Nevertheless, the setting in an Italian
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
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).
The mural paintings that decorated the house known as “la Quinta del Sordo,” where Goya lived have come to be known as the Black Paintings, because he used so many dark pigments and blacks in them, and also because of their somber subject matter. The private and intimate character of that house allowed the artist to express himself with great liberty. He painted directly on the walls in what must
Abused and raped by their husbands the Counts of Carrión, the daughters of El Cid –Doña Elvira and Doña Sol– were abandoned, bound and semi-naked, in a forest. In the background, the aggressors can be seen fleeing into a clearing. This episode, inspired by one of the most dramatic passages in the Romance del Cid, was very popular amongst nineteenth-century history painters, fo
A fearsome giant looms over a valley filled with a terrified, scattering multitude in what has on occasions been seen as a reference to the Spanish War of Independence. Although catalogued until recently as an original by Goya and often considered one of his most unique works, the painting has been the subject of intense critical debate in recent years. This ongoing controversy has involved the le
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
Retrato del pintor Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza, 1848-Madrid, 1921). Obra que destaca por la enorme soltura empleada para su ejecución y la espontaneidad que emana del retrato, que es capaz de reflejar con sumo acierto el ambiente de esfuerzo y estudio que se respiraba entre los primeros pensionados de la Academia Española de Bellas Artes de Roma. Esta promoción, ademá
Mariano Fortuny Madrazo (Granada, 1871-Venecia, 1949) se autorretrata en busto, de frente y hasta los hombros, a la edad de setenta y seis años. Aparece vestido con la bata que usaba habitualmente para trabajar, bajo la que asoma el cuello de la camisa. El artista, que hizo un análisis de las avejentadas facciones de su cara, presenta el pelo blanco todavía abundante y una poblada barba cana que o
