Description
Italian school; 18th century. "Classical warrior". Oil on canvas. Antique re-colouring. It conserves frame of epoch. Measurements: 75 x 59,5 cm; 86 x 70 cm (frame). Portrait in which it is presented a young man with a long bust immersed in a landscape. The figure stands out for its monumentality, which is due not only to its dimensions but also to its clothing, as it is dressed in military attire. Portraiture was one of the most original and characteristic manifestations of Roman art. The origin of the Roman portrait appears to be linked more to a concept than to an artistic expression, and reflects the vital philosophy of that people like no other artistic genre. In its formation it is possible to detect three roots: Etruscan-Italic, Greek and the indigenous trend of the "maiorum imagines" or funerary masks. The combination of all of them will result in an unmistakable and genuine work. This aesthetic tradition continued from the Renaissance onwards, when a process of reinterpretation of classical texts and, of course, works of art began, which exerted a great influence both technically, formally and thematically. As in the rest of Europe, during this period portraiture became the leading genre par excellence in Italian painting as a consequence of the new social structures that were established in the Western world during this century, embodying the ultimate expression of the transformation in the taste and mentality of the new clientele that emerged among the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who were to take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave precedence to other artistic genres, such as history painting, and the incipient collectors encouraged the profusion of genre paintings, portraits were in great demand for paintings intended for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the privacy of a studio, in the everyday warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house.
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Italian school; 18th century. "Classical warrior". Oil on canvas. Antique re-colouring. It conserves frame of epoch. Measurements: 75 x 59,5 cm; 86 x 70 cm (frame). Portrait in which it is presented a young man with a long bust immersed in a landscape. The figure stands out for its monumentality, which is due not only to its dimensions but also to its clothing, as it is dressed in military attire. Portraiture was one of the most original and characteristic manifestations of Roman art. The origin of the Roman portrait appears to be linked more to a concept than to an artistic expression, and reflects the vital philosophy of that people like no other artistic genre. In its formation it is possible to detect three roots: Etruscan-Italic, Greek and the indigenous trend of the "maiorum imagines" or funerary masks. The combination of all of them will result in an unmistakable and genuine work. This aesthetic tradition continued from the Renaissance onwards, when a process of reinterpretation of classical texts and, of course, works of art began, which exerted a great influence both technically, formally and thematically. As in the rest of Europe, during this period portraiture became the leading genre par excellence in Italian painting as a consequence of the new social structures that were established in the Western world during this century, embodying the ultimate expression of the transformation in the taste and mentality of the new clientele that emerged among the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who were to take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave precedence to other artistic genres, such as history painting, and the incipient collectors encouraged the profusion of genre paintings, portraits were in great demand for paintings intended for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the privacy of a studio, in the everyday warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house.
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