JOSÉ DE MADRAZO Y AGUDO (Santander, 1781-Madrid, 1859)Retrato de dama con vestido azulh. 1825-1830

Oil on canvas. 70 x 53 cm. PROVENANCE: Private collection Madrid. Ángeles Hevia Collection, Oviedo. Madrid private collection. It is accompanied by report number 092-045 made by Dr. Carlos González López and Montserrat Martí Ayxelá. A copy of this report is preserved in the C.M. Barcelona archive, with a photograph of it. On a neutral background, the painter places in the center of the composition, the portrait of a young woman. Posing half-length, she wears a simple blue satin dress with a generous neckline topped with careful lace and puffed mandas. Her hairstyle, in the fashion of the time, consists of a high bun and a wonderful set of ringlets that frame the young woman's face, a common feature in Madrazo's production. She looks at the viewer with her large, clear eyes with a kind and determined gesture. José de Madrazo, with his special technical refinement, executes the careful description and the shines of the young woman's hair. His astonishing virtuosity is evident in the delicate modeling of the flesh tones, which exhibit a sensual morbidity and a play of chiaroscuro particularly noticeable on the left side of the neck. The nuanced luminosity highlights the natural whiteness of the young woman's body. In addition, we can appreciate Madrazo's virtuosity in the subtle play of iridescence in the folds of the fabrics. Dr. Carlos González places the work in the decade of 1825-1830, a significant period in the life and work of José de Madrazo. In 1825, Madrazo was granted the privilege by Royal Order of Ferdinand VII to lithograph the royal collections, and the following year he began working on the paintings in the Prado Museum. During these years, Madrazo devoted himself to the development of the lithographic establishment, but he also continued to work at the School of Fine Arts and to paint portraits. As a Chamber painter, he taught classes to Queen Maria Cristina. This portrait also stands out for its ornamental sobriety, certainty in the stroke and absence of regrets and establishes a relationship in the treatment of facial features and facial expression, between this portrait and other works of his, such as the oil painting of the Virgin and Child, signed and dated 1826, as well as with his self-portrait dated around 1835, preserved in the Museo Nacional del Prado under inventory number 4470.