Retratos - History Lab

Francisco de Saavedra attributed to Goya

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:25 +0000

Francisco de Saavedra was an enlightened Sevillian who, after dedicating his life to a military career, reached the Court as a minister of Charles IV during a serious social situation that he tried to resolve through some of the institutions in Granada that he had come to know during his academic training at the Colegio del Sacro Monte. This is precisely where the work attributed to Francisco de Goya is kept, as when Francisco de Saavedra was appointed Minister of Finance in 1797 he immediately informed the College, which was great news.
So much so that on 12 December 1797 the rector himself ordered that he be congratulated and commissioned a painting to celebrate the appointment, to perpetuate his figure in order to motivate the rest of the students and as a source of propaganda for this Granada institution. It is a full-length representation of Saavedra, seated in a chair and dressed in the costume of a captain general.

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Saint Agnes, by Francisco de Zurbarán

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:18 +0000

Between 1598 and 1664 Francisco de Zurbarán produced a series of paintings of virgin saints and martyrs following his own pictorial model which, under an apparent simplicity and direct portrait intention, allows for numerous interpretations. While these depictions show the saints with the appearance of being immaculate, they are not enveloped in the symbolism typical of saints and martyrs, such as the ecstatic posture gazing towards heaven, nor are they set in a pure environment that would indicate the sacred environment to which they belong. Furthermore, as they are not completely static figures, they cannot be classified as religious icons either.
Another characteristic feature of the series to which Saint Agatha belongs (Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France) is that they are not narrative paintings, but only refer to the events of their protagonists through their attributes, such as in this case the fact that they hold their own severed breasts on a tray. Zurbarán distances the figures from their sacred representation by isolating them against a neutral background and shows them directly in front of the viewer.

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The wedding at Cana

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:03 +0000

An immense painting by Paolo Caliari the Veronese, intended for the refectory of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. The New Testament episode is set in lavish Palladian architecture and among the guests he portrays sovereigns, artists and himself among the musicians. He mixes the biblical narrative with anachronisms that reflect the apotheosis of Venetian art.

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Portrait of Bernardo Muñoz

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:14 +0000

The image shows the gold and silver assayer, Bernardo Muñoz. At the top of the image we can read: “Situazion en la que D. Bernardo Muñoz egecuta los ensayes de oro i plata – i su retrato”. The portrait of this assayer, one of the most outstanding figures in the organisation of the silversmiths’ guilds in the Modern Age, dedicated to the recognition of the quality of the pieces, is an image of great interest for two reasons: firstly, because it allows us to observe the work space where he carried out his work as an assayer; secondly, because it is an excellent resource for analysing elements linked to everyday life and customs of the time. In this sense, the image allows us to analyse the gesture of the figure himself, as well as some representative elements such as the wig he wears and his clothes, typical of a person of economic solvency who is more akin to an artist than a manufacturing craftsman.

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The family of Philip V

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:03 +0000

Van Loo’s work shows King Philip V with his second wife, Isabella Farnese, who appears in the centre of the composition. Alongside them are his descendants, the future Ferdinand VI (son of his first marriage to Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy) and Charles III, accompanied by their wives. Contrasting attitudes can be observed: the exhaustion of Philip V compared to the fullness of Isabella Farnese, the elegance of Fernando VI and the presence of the then King of Naples, Charless III. The work as a whole excludes the psychological depth of the sitters. In addition to its genealogical value, the work is reminiscent of the organisation of Dutch conversation paintings in which the family is shown as a public institution. From an artistic point of view, it marks the evolution of the French school with the apotheosis of the collective portrait and a more developed conception than the earlier paintings by Rigaud, Mignard and Largillerre.

The post The family of Philip V first appeared on History Lab.

The family of Charles IV

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:03 +0000

The Family of Carlos IV belongs to a series of royal portraits begun by Goya in 1799, on the eve of Napoleon’s Consulate, which promised to pacify the tumultuous past decade. Goya placed the fourteen figures depicted in an austere interior without carpets, decorating only the back wall. The painting is based, as has often been claimed, on Las Meninas of 1656. The modifications made by the artist from Zaragoza differed from Velázquez’s details, such as the definition of space (none in this work) and the close relationship of Velázquez’s figures as opposed to the introspective depictions of arlos IV’s family. In the centre of the painting is the figure of the queen, dressed like the other infantas in a brilliant French-style dress, on which she wears the sash of the Royal Order of Noble Ladies founded by her in 1794. In addition, she imitates the Infanta’s posture, which several historians considered to be a satire on the Queen because of her advanced age. Emerging from the half-light, Ferdinand appears dressed in the blue of the principality of Asturias. His brother, Carlos María Isidro, holds him by the waist, a curious attitude that could be interpreted as a predisposition to succeed Ferdinand if necessary, and which seems to announce his intention in 1833 to claim the throne for his niece Isabella, a fact that would lead to the future Carlist Wars. The lady in lost profile represents Ferdinand’s future wife, thought to be Caroline of Saxe-Weimar, until in 1802 it was Maria Antonia of Naples. King Charles IV is depicted in full dress, with a golden fleece, and bands and badges of the order of Charles III, the Neapolitan order of San Gennaro and the four Spanish orders (Santiago, Montesa, Calatrava and Alcántara).

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Miscegenation in American society (I)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

This work, entitled “De chino cambujo e india, loba” (“Of Chinese Cambujo and Indian, Wolf”), depicts a family group consisting of a father, a mother and a son, identified by inscriptions that refer to their degree of miscegenation from indigenous, European and African ethnic origins. These representations are characteristic of a pictorial genre that developed in the Viceroyalty of New Spain throughout the 18th century. It is known as “caste painting” and is organised on the basis of series generally consisting of sixteen paintings in which the most common unions are arranged. As shown in this canvas, which belongs to a set dispersed among various collections, the clothing and adornment of the figures, the activity they perform and the setting in which the action takes place, act as fundamental elements in identifying the social status of those depicted. Miguel Cabrera, the author of this group, who signed and dated the last of the canvases in 1763, is the painter most widely recognised by his contemporaries and had a large number of disciples and followers who were often inspired by the master’s own models.

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Miscegenation in American society (II)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

This work, entitled “De español y mestiza, castiza” (“Of Spaniard and Mestiza, Caste”), is a representation of mixed-race or caste painting, and is one of the main sources of information on everyday life in the Viceroyalty of New Spain in the 18th century. These representations are characteristic of a pictorial genre that developed during this century, known as “caste painting”. This genre was usually organised in series of 16 scenes depicting family groups made up of different ethnic groups, in response to the Enlightenment’s desire to order and classify the social structure and to show a self-image of the socio-cultural diversity of New Spain. It is likely that these works were intended for a foreign audience. This particular canvas was painted by Miguel Cabrera in 1763, the painter most recognised by his contemporaries. It depicts a family of high social rank, as can be deduced from the clothing and ornaments worn by the figures, who are standing in front of a shoe shop.

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Camila Gonzaga, Countess of San Segundo and her children

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

Portraits of marriage and family are common in the Modern Age, allowing us to detect forms of relationship between husband and wife and family compositions. This portrait by Parmigianino depicts Camilla Gonzaga, married to the Count of San Secondo, emphasising her role as a mother. The iconography of the work depicts, apparently for the first time in Italy, a woman surrounded by her children in the manner of classical charity. Revealing is the hardness of the mother’s face, with a certain restrained smile, while the children approach the cord around her waist with their hands, considering it an element of security. She gives the impression that with one of them she wants to break the bonds of dependence, with another she seems to warn him of a possible withdrawal and only allows the youngest to cling to her. Her attitude, together with the direction of the children’s gaze, leaves a clear message: age forces a change in mother-child relationships and male life and promotion are associated with going out of the domestic space.

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Francisco de Goya

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:11 +0000

This resource is about Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828), Spanish painter and engraver, multifaceted artist, portraitist of royalty, bullfighting enthusiast, with his 33 engravings on this theme, whose life is surrounded by several anecdotes, one of them being the mystery of the whereabouts of his skull, as it was not found inside the coffin when his body was exhumed in 1888 in Bordeaux. His technique, full of versatility and rapid execution, has transcended the history of art and the artist is considered one of the best in his craft. It also describes how several of his paintings were lost, two of which belonged to the collection of María Josefa de la Soledad Alfonso-Pimentel y Téllez-Girón, Duchess of Osuna. Lastly, reference is made to works by him that have disappeared or are misattributed, such as The Milkmaid of Bordeaux and The Colossus, in which the importance of the master’s disciples is emphasised.

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