Vicente López Portaña

VICENTE LÓPEZ PORTAÑA (Valencia, 1772 - Madrid, 1850).
"Portrait of Fernando VII".
Oil on canvas.
It has an old label on the back from the National Portrait Exhibition and the Manuel Barbié Gallery (Barcelona).
It has a 19th century frame.
Measures: 72.5 x 57.5 cm; 90.5 x 75 cm (frame).
This work attributed to López Portaña shows the effigy of King Ferdinand VII, who was portrayed by the painter on numerous occasions. In fact, in this particular piece we can see how he has used a composition very similar to that of the portrait of Ferdinand VII belonging to the collection of the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts, with the sitter in the centre following a pyramidal scheme of great volumetric presence and a completely fictitious point of light next to the sitter's face. Although it is true that the two portraits differ because in this case the King is presented in his army captain's uniform, the same as in the work in the Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid).
Vicente López began his training as a pupil of Antonio de Villanueva at the San Carlos Academy in Valencia, where he was awarded first-class honours in 1786 and 1789 and was granted 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 colourist 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 Prado Museum, 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.