
Codie Lyons
Associate Specialist
US$80,000 - US$120,000
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Provenance
Private collection, Kansas City, Missouri;
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Raimundo de Madrazo came from a distinguished artistic dynasty, which included his grandfather José de Madrazo (1781-1859), a neoclassical painter, and his father Federico de Madrazo (1814-1894), who trained in Paris with Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) and was regarded as the best portrait painter in Spain.
Born in Rome in 1841, Raimundo de Madrazo lived for many years in Paris, where he was influenced by the Belgian artist Alfred Stevens and his brother-in-law, Mariano Fortuny. From that time on, his style changed from historical and academic paintings to the more intimate genre paintings of the Belle Epoque. In 1882, with Giuseppe de Nittis, Alfred Stevens and the gallery owner Georges Petit, he co-founded the Exposition Internationale de Peinture, designed to promote foreign artists in Paris.
Madrazo's most characteristic works were female portraits in elegant interiors. This is well illustrated in the present work La pintora en su estudio, where the figures are placed in an artist's studio, which serves as backdrop that showcases Madrazo's skills in depicting sumptuous brocades, silks and period dresses in a refined and elegant setting. The motif of the female artist is a recurrent one for Madrazo. The young sitter portrayed as an artist is typically a prominent lady of society who passes her time painting in an intimate studio surrounded by her model, art supplies and decorations. The influence of Madrazo's close friend and brother-in-law, Mariano Fortuny, is clearly evident in this work in the abundance of detail and mastery of color and texture.
Madrazo enjoyed huge success as an artist all over the world, including the United States, where the Vanderbilts were perhaps his most faithful patrons.