Ricardo de Madrazo

RICARDO DE MADRAZO Y GARRETA (Madrid, 1852 - 1917)
"Portrait of a young man.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
It has very slight flaws in the canvas.
Measurements: 28 x 23 cm: 47 x 43 cm (frame).

In this portrait, Madrazo presents a delicate feminine bust resolved with great psychological sensitivity. The face, of serene expression and introspective look, is modeled by means of a soft and enveloping brushstroke, with subtle gradations of light that enhance the smoothness of the skin and the blush of the cheeks. The palette, dominated by warm, earthy tones, is balanced by the neutral background, which focuses all the attention on the oval of the face.

Ricardo de Madrazo y Garreta, Federico's son and Raimundo's brother, studied at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts, where he was a disciple, among others, of Joaquín Espalter. In 1866 he met Mariano Fortuny, his brother-in-law and a decisive figure in his artistic evolution, with whom he traveled to Rome and later to Paris, where he studied the great masters at the Louvre and visited Meissonier's workshop. After the Franco-Prussian War he returned to Spain and lived in Granada, painting with Fortuny in the Alhambra and the Albaicín, and later traveling to Morocco and again to Rome.

His work is preserved today in important public and private collections, including museums such as the Prado Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Hispanic Society of America in New York and other Spanish and European institutions.