In this popular scene, two people, one dressed in eighteenth century fashion, with a cape and two-cornered hat, are depicted in front of the Pavilion of Carlos V in the Gardens of the Alcázar of Seville. The presence of the man deliberately recalls the small genre scenes made popular by Madrazo’s brother-in-law, Mariano Fortuny, to whom this painting may be seen as a playful tribute.This is
Venice was the predominant subject of most of Rico’s paintings, since he spent the summer months there for over thirty years. He was particularly interested in the bustling commercial life of the docks. Despite its apparent realism, this is an adapted view of Venice; Rico has removed the imposing prison building, which prompted the legend of the famous Bridge of Sighs. Legado de
The Painter Aureliano de Beruete is the most outstanding of all the portraits made by Sorolla. In this work he successfully combined the Velázquez inspiration that was a feature of his oeuvre during that period with direct and rigorous painting from the life and a profound and sensitive interpretation of the sitter’s outstanding personality. Sorolla was especially gifted at portraiture owin
Aline Masson was Madrazo’s favourite model for genre paintings. Her heavy-lidded gaze and slightly defiant attitude convey the frivolous atmosphere of Paris, where Madrazo’s portraits met with great acclaim. Here, the artist displays his technical skill in using a reduced range of colours, applied with deft, confident brushstrokes.
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
En los primeros meses de 1914, cuando su esposa estaba embarazada de su hijo Bernardo, que nació el 20 de marzo en Madrid, el pintor realizó este retrato que la representa con mantilla. Seguía con ello una moda habitual en los retratos femeninos desde el siglo XIX, que se hizo muy frecuente en las primeras décadas del XX. El pintor recurrió a menudo a su esposa para que le sirviera de modelo, como
The Valencian painter Antonio Gomar (1853-1911), who specialised in landscapes and decorative compositions, is portrayed by his compatriot Sorolla at the age of 53. The work’s landscape format, influenced by photography, and which Sorolla reserved for portraits of family and friends, is indicative of how close he was to his model. Painted in the foreground, his body foreshortened to the left, and
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 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
Sorolla was the most gifted Spanish painter of his generation, excelling in portraiture. In the early years of the twentieth century, and especially after the encouragement of winning the Grand Prize in the 1900 Exposition Universelle Paris, he demonstrated the influence of Velázquez through the use of long, confident brushstrokes. This portrait of María de Figueroa y Bermejillo -the
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
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 this scene, set in the vicinity of Seville Cathedral, Madrazo deliberately echoes the peopled landscapes produced by his close friend, the Madrid painter Martín Rico; the main focus of the scene is a group of children playing, a device commonly used in Rico’s compositions.
Two little girls play with one of the swans in the pool of the Jardín de las Damas at the Real Alcázar in Seville. Madrazo displays here his extraordinary skill with colours, particularly in the rich range of greens that dominate much of the composition, and in the marked contrast between the strongly-lit whitewashed wall and the shady area behind the arches.
La obra es, como indica la inscripción, un estudio del natural para un retrato de gran tamaño que, encargado en 1887 por el Ministerio de Estado, cuyo titular era Segismundo Moret, para que sirviera de modelo a los retratos oficiales de la reina, se conserva en la Embajada de España en París. En éste del Prado, la forma ovalada de la cabeza se resalta con armonía por el peinado, recogido. Los ojos
This work was painted at a very important moment in Rico’s career, a period spent in direct contact with Fortuny in Granada in 1871 and 1872. He move there towards the end of 1870, but he was already familiar with that city from a stay in 1857 while painting in Sierra Nevada. On November 18 of that year, Fortuny wrote a letter inviting Rico to join him and his brother-in-law, Ricardo de Madrazo. A
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