Roman or Spanish school; 18th century.

Roman or Spanish school; XVIII century.
"Portrait of a cardinal".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 92 x 76,5 cm; 106 x 89 cm (frame).
In this canvas is represented the cardinal dressed with all the symbols of his rank, with the hood on his head writing. All the symbolic and scenographic elements remain in the background, since the painter concentrates the protagonism and the viewer's attention on the character. His expression is friendly and open despite the rigidity of his posture. The chromatism, around the red tones typical of the cardinal's clothing, is combined with highly nuanced whites and the ochre and earthy tones of the background, unified under a naturalistic atmosphere.
Faced with the exuberant and elegant portrait, of virtuous and elaborate execution, at the beginning of the XVII century a general reaction was unleashed, affirmed in the compositional austerity and in the operative sobriety during the XVIII century. Thus, as opposed to the eagerness for virtuosity of the previous century, the Baroque portraitists recovered the previous models in a more sober and solid way, focusing on the characterization of the characters, the elegance of the poses and the delicate capture of the qualities of the different objects. The fact that this genre of painting developed in greater numbers is due to the commercial flourishing of these cities. This favored the beginning of an incipient bourgeoisie that gathered wealth, thus establishing itself in a higher social rank and favoring the development of a pictorial genre that favors pomp and personal recognition, such as the portrait.