ZACARÍAS GONZÁLEZ VELÁZQUEZ Madrid 1763 - 1834

Portrait of the Painter's Daughter. H. 1810 Oil on canvas Size 64.6 x 51.5 cm The portrait that we now present shows us a young lady dressed as a pestle with an elegant white mantilla to match the closed fan that she wears in her right hand. This popular clothing that was born in the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés was adopted by wealthy ladies as a sign of national pride in response to the Napoleonic invasion. Zacarías González Velázquez married Juana Fernández Rebustillo on February 21, 1792 and they were the parents of Andrea, Pablo, María Clara, Juliana and María Ana. Of the four daughters we only know the portraits of the two little ones, Juliana and María Ana (private collection, Madrid). In the San Pío V Museum in Valencia, the triple portrait of the painter's daughters is preserved, with steorotyped features that make their correct identification difficult. In the absence of other works that help to identify the young woman portrayed, we venture to think that it is the portrait of María Clara González Velázquez (1795-1836). Curiously, the model bears a great resemblance to the lady portrayed in the Meadows Museum in Dallas. In any case, we are faced with one of the most beautiful portraits of Zacarías González Velázquez that have appeared on the art market recently.