The finest work of all Gisbert’s production, this impressive painting is also unarguably one of the most beautiful of all 19th-century Spanish history paintings. Moreover, it is one of the greatest political manifestos of all Spanish painting in defense of human freedom crushed by authoritarianism and one of the very few cases in which a clear propagandistic message was directly inspired by govern
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).
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
A view of the profile of the Villerville mansion from the beach. The short, impasto and vibrant brushtrokes emphasize the sensation of a fleeting moment that Haes seems to have wanted to capture with this landscape. The highlights that illuminate the ocean mist contrast with the dark range of colors on the horizon and the rocks in the foreground. The drawing, Villerville (D05285), in the Prado Mus
A la orilla del mar, baten las olas sobre las formaciones rocosas que se adentran en él, sobresaliendo a la izquierda un promontorio en cuya superficie se adhieren líquenes y vegetación marina. Al fondo, se observa un mar rizado salpicado por pequeñas crestas de olas que van proporcionando pequeños puntos de luz sobre la superficie marítima que culmina en el horizonte en un sutil línea verdosa que
An intensely sensual female nude that presents the figure in the form of a pearl enclosed in its box, the ocean, which may be an allusion to the birth of Venus. Presented at the Paris Salon of 1863, this work was one of the most appreciated female nudes of Second Empire Paris, despite the strong criticism it received as an exultantly erotic work lacking any moral modesty. Its first owner was the E
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 popular scene painted with great technical freedom shows an improvised stage surrounded by people in the midst of a landscape. The piece being played is a satire from the Italian Commedia dell´ Arte. The main characters appear on stage: Arlecchino, Columbina and Pantalone. A poster at the front of the stage reads “Alec Men” (“Menandrian Allegory”). This work belonged to a series of twel
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 devotional painting illustrates an Old Testament story (Tobias 6, 1-8) in which Tobias meets the Archangel Raphael. The story of the two Tobias, father and son, is a model of Jewish piety and the father foreshadows the suffering of Christ´s Passion. He was faithful to the Law of God in the midst of generalized abuse and was put to the test on various occasions, always successfully. This
The Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain was a museum project planned in 1847 by José de Madrazo to adorn four of the new rooms at the Real Museo de Pinturas (Royal Museum of Paintings), then under his direction. At the height of the confrontation between the supporters of Isabella II and the Carlists, who denied the sovereign’s right to occupy the throne because she was a woman, the
Holding his spectacles in his right hand, the subject of this portrait gazes at the viewer. He has momentarily left the composition he is working on, which is dated 1844 and is partially legible. It is precisely this element that enabled the subject to be identified as Urbano Aspa (C. Díaz Pascual 2015), a composer of religious music who was also a close friend of the painter’s family. In t
In this three-quarters portrait, the lady is standing and slightly turned to the left. Her pose, with interlaced fingers, is very relaxed. Concepción Miramón de Duret´s father, General Miramón, was executed by firing squad alongside the Emperor Maximilian on 19 June 1867. She lived in Rome when this portrait was made. Notable in this portrait of the Countess is her lack of jew
The Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain was a museum project planned in 1847 by José de Madrazo to adorn four of the new rooms at the Real Museo de Pinturas (Royal Museum of Paintings), then under his direction. At the height of the confrontation between the supporters of Isabella II and the Carlists, who denied the sovereign’s right to occupy the throne because she was a woman, the
Retrato de Víctor Balaguer i Cirera (Barcelona, 1824-Madrid, 1901), escritor, historiador y político. Fue, además, ministro de Ultramar (1871, 1874 y 1886-1888) y de Fomento (1872). Aunque fue miembro de la Sociedad Abolicionista Española, él defendía una abolición gradual de la esclavitud. Esta obra fue pintada para el Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar y reproduce el retrato de la medalla realizada en
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
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