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When describing the work of this prolific painter of still lifes, it is frequently said that Luis Meléndez included only commonplace objects in his canvases; this painting, in fact, offers the exception that proves the rule. Amid the various objects represented here are a porcelain cup and large saucer, or plate, which seem to be East Asian rather than Spanish. Indeed, they may be Cantonese
Luycks depicts a table with a basket of grapes, quince and other fruit as well as a hare and various dead birds. At the lower right a dog barking at a cat adds a note of life to the scene. Christiaan Luycks was a follower of Jan Fyt.
Sobre una tosca mesa de madera, descrita táctilmente con los pequeños detalles de la calidad del material, visibles en nudos y muescas, aparecen desordenadamente situadas unas cuantas “peritas de San Juan” y un pan en segundo término, junto al cual se eleva una alcarraza de loza muy blanca que bien pudiera ser andaluza. Se denomina popularmente “jarra de cuatro picos” y muestra una decoración de i
Three figures enjoy tobacco in an expressive manner in the foreground while an onlooker leans through the window. Around a table in the background, another group of figures drinks or plays cards. This is an example of scenes inside taverns with smokers, drinkers and players, which Teniers made during the sixteen thirties. He began with figures by his teacher, Adriaen Brouwer (1605/1606-1638), whic
Atribuido a Antonio Moro, carece de inscripciones o de un escudo que permita identificar a esta dama joven, retratada por el pintor de Utrecht con el porte que corresponde a la nobleza de su cuna como en todos sus retratos. La muestra de pie y de más de medio cuerpo, en posición de tres cuartos. Como en otras ocasiones, la dirección de la mirada, desviada de la de la cabeza, no se dirige frontalme
A full-length portrait of Queen María Luis de Parma (1751-1819), wife of King Carlos IV (1748-1819), wearing a large feathered hat and French lace, with a seventeenth-century style bustle and the sort of large skirt flattened in front and back that replaced the farthingale. The only jewelry she wears is the Cruz Estrellada award. Her hand rests on a table covered with a tablecloth on which
In this portrait, Pedro Benítez sits informally on a chair, resting his left arm on its back while gazing frankly and directly at the viewer with whom he establishes an empathetic relationship. He is dressed in the fashion of the reign of Ferdinand VII, with a marvellous cravat emerging from his vest and a book in his right hand. Beside him, standing, is his daughter María de la Cruz
This work depicts the feast of Epiphany, as can be seen by the crown on the central figure, whose paintings show an Adoration of the Magi. According to Flemish folk tradition, in this feast, the king of the celebration is chosen by chance, being the one who finds a bean in his cake. Other Flemish artists, such as Jordaens, depicted this celebration in the same way, reflecting its most festive mome
Of the people with whom Velázquez must have had contact on a daily basis at the palace, many would have been high functionaries or skilled servants of the court. His own social aspirations included becoming a member of that professional group, which he eventually joined, and he made portraits of some of them, including two now at the Museo del Prado: Diego del Corral, shown here, and his wi
Born to an Austrian Catholic family, Juan Everardo Nithard (Falkenstein, 1607-Rome, 1681)became a Jesuit. His solid grounding in theology led Emperor Ferdinand III to appoint him confessor to his children, Leopold and Mariana, and when the latter married Philip IV, he accompanied her to Madrid in the same role. Widowed, Mariana became reagent for her son, Charles, until he came of age, and during
The Roman saint Cecilia was martyred for her faith. As the patron saint of music she is normally depicted playing an instrument, crowned with flowers and accompanied by the angel who defended her purity. The pronounced contrasts of light in this scene reveal the influence of Caravaggio that was evident in Grammatica’s work from 1605 onwards.
Although Bettini noted a number of paternal precedents for this painting, it is a personal interpretation by Francesco of the gospel passage. Three versions are known, of which the Prado painting is the last. The first, dated about 1585, was auctioned by Sotheby´s of Florence in 1984, and there is a preparatory drawing of the figures of the elderly man with a bear and the page on the left (V
Steenwijck brings to the vanitas a genre in which he specialised, according to the surviving inventories -the compositional structure, scheme, colour range and lighting characteristic of the so-called monochrome banketjes or monochrome still lifes of Willem Claesz. Heda (P2754, P2655 and P2756) and Pieter Claesz. (P2753). Accordingly, the objects are arranged on a simple wooden table that is half
Depictions of painting galleries became popular in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century. The exhibition of paintings and other artistic or natural objects was originally a way of manifesting the high social standing of an eminently bourgeois class with a strong desire to ennoble itself. In many cases, the paintings did not rigorously reflect the client’s collection, but served inst
Saint Joseph grasps Jesus’s arm to prevent him from taking fruit from the basket. This action is loaded with meaning, given the sacrificial and Eucharistic significance of both the Child’s violet tunic and the grapes and pomegranates that predominate in the fruit basket. The painter, who is now getting better known, worked in Jaen and at Court in Madrid in the mid-seventeenth century.
Don Antonio Ugarte, a prominent member of the entourage of Ferdinand VII, and his wife, posed for the first painter to the king, with an evident penchant for ostentation. He is wearing the full-dress uniform of the king’s secretary, including the cane and hat resting on the table, and also boasts different badges of office and honours. She, dressed in Imperial garb and adorned with splendid jewels
