French or Spanish School, ca. 1820-1830

French or Spanish school, ca. 1820-1830.
"Portrait of a gentleman".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Period frame.
Measurements: 66 x 53 cm; 76 x 63,5 x 4 cm.

We see in this canvas a male portrait of romantic heritage, of firm drawing, expressive and controlled, and softly nuanced chromatism, especially in the face, where he models the features with great efficiency. It is an energetic face, reflecting the personality of the sitter. The man wears a fashionable suit of the time, with a dark jacket and a scarf that covers his neck, allowing a glimpse of the white of his cotton shirt.

As in the rest of Europe, the portrait became in the 19th century the protagonist genre par excellence of Spanish painting, as a consequence of the new social structures, embodying the maximum expression of the transformation of the taste and mentality of the new bourgeois clientele. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the intimacy of a studio, in the daily warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house.