19th century Spanish school

19th century Spanish school.
"The Street Singer".
Oil on panel.
Signed illegibly with the corner of the brush and titled in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 24 x 20 cm; 43 x 37,5 cm (frame)
Within the framework of the rise of regionalism in Spain in the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century, an art of romantic heritage, costumbrista and of realistic and meticulous workmanship developed, which focused on the representation of subjects, themes and characters reflecting a new sense of folklore. In this context, painters sought to reflect the types and customs of their own land, which made it different and unique, thus vindicating their own roots and, above all, the traditions and ways of dressing and behaving that were threatened by the notable growth of urban areas and the imposition of new fashions brought in from outside. Art, fundamentally in its pictorial aspect, thus became, in a certain way, a vehicle of expression capable of making regional peculiarities known to the rest of the nation. This work is fully in line with this Spanish regionalist trend, still firmly anchored in Romanticism, in which the vindication of Spanishness is not limited to the subject matter, but also affects the technical aspect: we see an impastoed and undone workmanship, rich in material and also in detail, which reflects the brightness of the canvases in the same way as Diego Velázquez did, a great reference point together with Francisco de Goya for a 19th-century Spanish school that rediscovered the modernity of its old masters.