Federico de Madrazo

FEDERICO DE MADRAZO Y KUNTZ (Rome, 1815 - Madrid, 1894).
"The lady with the rose".
Oil on canvas.
Work reproduced in the catalog: "Spanish Painting. Federico de Madrazo exhibition. Organized by Justo Bou". Witcomb Salon, Florida 364. Buenos Aires, 1923. Fig Nº2.
Damaged.
Signed.
Measurements: 146 x 114 cm.
In this painting Federico de Madrazo transcends the genre of the portrait to give us a testimony of the bourgeoisie of the time, a delicate and courteous image that catches the eye of the spectator. As in the rest of his production, Madrazo emphasizes the personality of the protagonist, making a psychological study of the model, in which he shows the woman with great distinction and sobriety. He applies a short and precise brushstroke on the drawing, especially noticeable in the neckline with the shoulders partially uncovered. The work is an example of Madrazo's style, characterized by simplicity and naturalness, with a distant serenity in the portraits and by his mastery in the representation of the textures of the dresses.
Federico Madrazo, son of the painter José de Madrazo, when he was in Rome in the service of Charles IV in exile, Federico de Madrazo moved with his family to Madrid when his father was appointed painter of Fernando VII's chamber in 1819. Shortly thereafter, the Royal Museum of Paintings was inaugurated, an institution that would be a key element in the life of Federico de Madrazo. During his childhood and youth he visited it frequently with his father, who was in fact responsible for the lithographic establishment of the museum since 1826, and its director between 1838 and 1857. A precocious painter, Federico de Madrazo was admitted as an academician of merit in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando when he was only sixteen years old. During these years of youth he founded with his brother Pedro the magazine "El Artista", which was an important romantic novelty, and in which Federico was in charge of the illustrations. In 1832 he went to Paris to study painting with Ingres, a friend of his father. There he acquired a romantic style in the French manner. In 1840 he continued his training in Rome, where he came into contact with the Nazarenes and, in particular, with Overbeck, which strengthened his drawing skills, already important in his style thanks to what he had learned from his father and Ingres. An illustrative work about this Nazarene influence in Madrazo is "Las Marías en el sepulcro". Two years later he returned to Spain, becoming a painter of great prestige, much sought after as a portrait painter by the aristocracy of Madrid. Chamber painter to Queen Isabella II, he was the great official portraitist of the time. His portraits were characterized by the simplicity and naturalness of his models, and by a distant serenity, intimately linked to the romantic feeling. He was also director of the Prado Museum, a position he held, albeit interrupted, for thirty years until his death. He also directed the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. He developed a brilliant career as a history painter and, especially, as a portrait painter, achieving great prestige in the artistic circles not only in Madrid, but also in Paris and Rome. His production evolves from a painting where the purism of the line and the careful detailing predominate towards a more fluid and spontaneous technique, of greater expressive depth. Federico de Madrazo is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation and the Romantic Museum in Madrid, among others.