Valencian school of the 19th century

Valencian School of the XIX century.
"Portrait.
Oil on canvas.
Signed J.M.
Measurements: 96 x 79 cm.

Male portrait belonging to the Valencian school of the XIX century, linked to the academic bourgeois portrait of the middle or second half of the century. The work represents a seated gentleman dressed in a dark formal suit, accompanied by books and documents that symbolize his social position, intellectual formation and professional prestige.

The sober composition, the dark background and the lighting centered on the face respond to the academic models disseminated by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia. The portrait reflects the rise of the Valencian bourgeoisie during the 19th century, a time when merchants, landowners and professionals used painting as a means of social representation and affirmation of status.

Stylistically, the work shows a precise and restrained execution, close to the Spanish portrait tradition inherited from Vicente López and romantic academicism, characterized by the dignification of the character and the search for an image of serenity, authority and respectability.