Vicente López Portaña

VICENTE LÓPEZ PORTAÑA (Valencia, 1772 - Madrid, 1850)
"Portrait of a Lady.
Oil on canvas.
It presents faults on the pictorial surface.
Bibliography: Díez, José Luis, Catalogue, Vicente López (1772-1850). Catalogue raisonné. Volume II. Madrid, Fundación de Apoyo a la Historia del Arte Hispánico, 1999, pp.188 (P-735) and 758.
It has a 20th-century frame following antique models.
Measurements: 46 x 35 cm; 64.5 x 50.5 cm (frame).
This work shows features inherited from the painting of López Portaña, influences which can be seen in the objective treatment of the sitter, without any hint of idealisation. It follows a realistic style, influenced by the naturalist tradition. In addition, in the work, we can see the artist's interest in portraying the fabrics and the different qualities that make up the lady's clothing, something very much to Vicente López's taste.
Vicente López began his training as a disciple of Antonio de Villanueva at the San Carlos Academy in Valencia, where he was awarded the first-class prize in 1786 and 1789, obtaining a pension to study in Madrid. Once at court, the following year he won first place in the competition at the San Fernando Academy. There he learnt the baroque and colourful sense of composition and a taste for precise and analytical drawing. The Baroque lavishness of the frescoes of Luca Giordano and Corrado Giaquinto also had a decisive influence on his language. Now an established artist, he returned to his native city in 1792. There he received important public and private commissions, including portraits of Ferdinand VII and Marshal Soult. In his portraits López shows his Valencian heritage, the weight of the naturalism of Ribera and Ribalta, as well as his mastery in the reproduction of details and qualities. His quality in the field of portraiture led Ferdinand VII to summon him back to court in 1814, appointing him the following year as his first court painter. From then on he became the most sought-after painter by Spanish high society, alternating his work at court with teaching, official posts and private commissions. In 1823 he took over the artistic direction of the Royal Museum of Paintings, for which he painted a superb portrait of Francisco de Goya, now in the Prado. Works by Vicente López are kept in the Museo del Prado, the Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia San Pío V, the Academia de San Fernando, the Museo Municipal de Játiva, the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña, the New York Historical Society, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome and the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid.