Spanish school of ca. 1850. Attributed to JOSÉ GUTIÉRREZ DE LA VEGA (Seville, 1791 - Madrid, 1865).
"Portrait of a Lady.
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
Size: 56 x 46 cm; 68 x 58 cm (frame).
The quality of the master responsible for this painting, attributed to José Gutiérrez de la Vega, is clear: first, for the economy of means he maintains by focusing the viewer's attention on the lady (something to which the neutral background of the painting and the tonal interplay between the dress and the lady's pale skin also contribute); second, for the quality of the drawing used, above all, on the face (drawing which predominates over colour and brushstroke, as was usual in 19th century art derived from the Neoclassicism of the Academies of Fine Arts).
One of the great portraitists of the Romantic period and a fervent follower of Murillo, José Gutiérrez de la Vega trained between 1802 and 1807 at the Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría in Seville. He began to paint portraits in 1816, and in his early works his typically Murilloesque vividness of tone and flesh tones, which, as some commentators have said, began to give him a reputation. Between 1818 and 1820 he stopped attending the Academy and devoted himself to making copies of Murillo, taking on the most complicated canvases by the master, on the sale of which he lived. However, he re-enrolled in 1821, perhaps thinking of becoming a teacher. Indeed, in 1925 he was appointed assistant painter. However, a few years later, in 1831, he decided to go to Madrid to try his luck at court. He was an academician of merit at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, although he never achieved the post of chamber painter, as it was only available when there were vacancies. Following the establishment of the Liceo Artístico y Literario de Madrid, Gutiérrez de la Vega became one of its most active members. He was also appointed director of the Seville School of Fine Arts, a post he held from 1839 until 1847 when, owing to his lengthy stays in Madrid, he had to leave. He was subsequently appointed professor of the elementary studies attached to the San Fernando Royal Academy.