This is one of the few winter scenes painted by Hendrick Dubbels still preserved today. In the Museum`s catalogues it is described as a scene with skaters, although only three of the many characters depicted here are actually skating, and one is putting on skates. The 1873 and 1878 editions state that, despite the signature, some consider this to be by Bonaventura Peeters; the 1885 publication men
The title of this work alludes to the flirting between the two characters, playing with the similarity between the basket chair and a confessional. The scene deals with one of the most frequent subjects in genre paintings from the second half of the nineteenth century: flirting and other games among the bourgeoisie. In opting for a vertical formant, the painter concentrates our attention on what i
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 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
This scene of a young man blowing on burning embers was already developed by El Greco in Italy. Here, the motif is complicated by a mischievous young man and a monkey. This possible allegory of sexual desire may also be inspired by a classical work that was often used at that time, Pliny the Elder´s Natural History. The lighting effects and color contrasts show how the Bassano influenced El Greco,
In the mid-nineteenth century Federico de Madrazo produced some of the most successful portraits of the Spanish bourgeoisie during the reign of Isabel II (1833-68), presenting them with the opulence that their social status demanded. In addition to his remarkable artistic ability, his female portraits are outstanding for their depiction of the accessories and adornments. These details are emphasis
A landscape on the banks of the Manzanares River with the skyline of Madrid in the background. Some of the city´s most significant buildings can be identified, including the dome of San Francisco el Grande. A man with a group of cows is visible in the foreground. The palette of dark earth tones and the type of brushstrokes show how Beruete was influenced —especially here— by his teacher, Carlos de
Ramón Martí Alsina trained as an artist within the spirit of Romanticism. However, after several visits to Paris from 1855 onwards, he came into contact with French realist painting and thereafter became one of the channels for the renewal of landscape painting in Spain. Together with Carlos de Haes and Martín Rico, Martí Alsina was one of the painters who introduced re
This portrait is one of the most beautiful examples of the great actress María Guerrero’s (1867-1928) lifelong obsession with her own image. She began having her portrait painted by the most famous painters of her time while still an infant. This fixation was favored by her father’s friendship with many of those artists, and as a result, the Museo del Prado has several splendid likeness of
A serene landscape with the Bidasoa River´s mouth at the Cantabrian Sea, as seen from the sands of Fuenterrabía. This landscape, along with sixteen other works, was presented by Rico at the Universal Exhibition of 1878 in Paris, where it was qualified as “spiritual, compositions that appear to have been made with drops of light on the end of the brush.” This work entered the Prado Museum as
This masterpiece by Raimundo de Madrazo represents his mature style in a worldly portrait painted with a personality that transcends his varied and different influences. Made a year before he was awarded first prize at the Universal Exposition of 1878 in Paris, it reveals the confidence of maturity. Moreover, this is a portrait of a very close friend who was also an outstanding collector. Errazu p
Wearing a penitent´s hood, a woman condemned by the Inquisition rides a burro, receiving the insults of those observing this street scene. Executed with rapid and impasto brushstrokes favors, this work is inspired by scenes of inquisitorial condemnations painted by Goya, who was an exceptional witness to them. Lucas, however, could not have been a direct witness to this type of events as the inqui
An outstanding painter of historical scenes and of secular mural decorations to adorn numerous public buildings, as well as those belonging to fin de siècle high society, Emilio Sala also dedicated much of his career to portraiture. This was an especially comfortable genre for him, as it allowed him to exercise his fluid technique as well as an expressive freedom that foreshadows many aspec
Wearing a penitent´s hood, a man condemned by the Inquisition rides a burro, receiving the insults of those observing this street scene. Executed with rapid and impasto brushstrokes favors, this work is inspired by scenes of inquisitorial condemnations painted by Goya, who was an exceptional witness to them. Lucas, however, could not have been a direct witness to this type of events as the inquisi
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
In 1883 Rico received the most significant commissions of his career: two views of Venice for the Marquis of Casa Riera and this panoramic view of Paris for Josefa de Manzanedo e Intentas, II Marchioness of Manzanedo. One of the wealthiest women of her time, she was a very close friend of Ramón de Errazu, who owned a portrait of her by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891). She had also
Sobre un fondo cerúleo, de ejecución rápida y desenvuelta, destaca la figura de una gitana de medio cuerpo. Como corresponde al estereotipo racial femenino, es de rostro ovalado, labios carnosos, cabello negro ensortijado y grandes ojos negros. Cubre su talle un mantón rojo, floreado, y una mantilla negra que deja caer sobre sus brazos. Como aderezo, unos claveles en su pelo, zarcillos colgantes y