Ignacio León y Escosura

IGNACIO LEÓN Y ESCOSURA (Oviedo, 1834 - Toledo, 1901).
"Female portrait.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right area.
Measurements: 63 x 45 cm.
Ignacio de León achieved great popularity for his cabinet scenes. This work is an example of the aesthetic and thematic delicacy that characterized him. The work, which is presented to the viewer in an intimate way, shows us a young woman dressed in an elegant suit leaning out of a cradle where a baby is. The bag hanging from her arm indicates that the young woman is either about to leave or has just arrived. This gesture shows the everyday life of the high society of the time, with the author paying attention to the everyday life of the family. This theme achieved great fame during the 19th century, acquiring more and more presence in pictorial representations.

Ignacio León y Escosura began his training at the School of Fine Arts in La Coruña, and later moved to Madrid to complete his studies at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, with Federico de Madrazo as his teacher. He also studied abroad, with stays in Paris and Rome, where he traveled as a pensioner. He participated in various European exhibitions, such as the Berlin Exhibition of 1886, the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889, the Madrid International Exhibition of 1892 and the Munich Exhibition of 1897. In the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts of Madrid he obtained several prizes: honorary mention (1862 and 1864), decoration (1881 and 1892) and second medal (1867). In the Universal Exhibition of London in 1886 he was also awarded the second medal. The quality of his paintings is shown by the fact that, without his intention, two of his works were exhibited in the Louvre Museum as authentic Velázquez and Murillo. Works by León y Escosura are currently preserved in the Prado Museum, the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Museums in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias, among others.