Spanish or French school; c. 1850- 1860.

Spanish or French school; c. 1850- 1860.
"Portrait of girl with guinea pig".
Oil on canvas.
Presents faults.
Preserves period frame.
Measurements. 95 x 68 cm; 112 x 85 cm (frame).
This child portrait, made by an anonymous author of the Spanish or French school of the mid-nineteenth century, is a clear exponent of nineteenth-century bourgeois painting, focused on the intimate and detailed representation of childhood as a symbol of innocence, status and tenderness. In the center of the composition stands the figure of a young girl, dressed in an elaborate pearl gown, decorated with geometric embroidery in deep red. The attire, meticulously executed, reveals the model's belonging to a wealthy family, as is also evidenced by the coral earrings and the necklace with a golden cross that she wears around her neck. Her expression, serious and penetrating, is far from the usual sentimental idealization, giving the scene an unusual psychological intensity in this type of portrait.
Next to her, on a marble table decorated with reliefs of cherubs, rests a white and brown guinea pig that the girl caresses with delicacy while offering her a green leaf. The animal, depicted with remarkable veracity, introduces a domestic and affective dimension, evoking the bond between children and their pets, a highly valued theme in the iconography of Romanticism. In the background, a wooded and mountainous landscape opens up in depth, with the silhouette of a palatial building, which reinforces the scenographic and poetic character of the work.
From the technical point of view, the painting stands out for its refined treatment of the material qualities -the satin of the dress, the fur of the animal, the marble of the table- and for the handling of a soft and enveloping light that subtly models the volumes. The attention to detail coexists with a certain pictorialist touch in the background, possibly influenced by the French school.