Escuela española; S. XVII

Spanish school; 17th century.
"Portrait of a gentleman.
Oil on canvas. Re-framed.
It conserves a Dutch style frame from the end of the 19th century.
Measurements: 74 x 62 cm; 94 x 81 cm (frame).
A bundle between his hands indicates that he is a character linked to the world of letters. Nothing else interrupts the effigy of the protagonist, placed on a neutral, dark background which gives greater prominence to the figure of the sitter. The portrait is notable for the great realism of the face, which reveals the wrinkles and the ravages of age, albeit without abandoning a certain idealisation typical of the portrait painting of the period. The male figure, dressed in dark clothes with a slight white collar, which adds a certain luminosity, in keeping with the tonality of the flesh tones, has his hands on his chest, which lends great intensity to the work, as mentioned above. The recognition of the liberal arts in the 1600s led to the development of portraiture, generating great interest in the pictorial depiction of emblematic figures from the world of literature. For this reason, aristocrats of the time in various European countries expanded their collections of portraits of illustrious men, with the presence of culturally important figures.
As in the rest of Europe, in the 17th century portraiture became the leading genre of painting par excellence, as it began to develop increasingly as a result of the new social structures that were established in the Western world during this century, embodying the maximum 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.

Conserva marco de estilo holandés de finales del siglo XIX.