SPANISH SCHOOL S. XIX

Portrait of infanta presented half-length in the foreground, on a neutral background and dark. The girl wears a white dress with puffy sleeves and straight neckline decorated with ruffles of lace. Across his chest the white band and blue of the Order of Carlos III, and she wears earrings, pearl necklace and a nice bracelet, the fashion of the late EIGHTEENTH-century and early TWENTIETH century. The model portrait child reminds the painting of José de Madrazo, “The queen Elizabeth II girl, hugging a dove”, painted towards 1834 and currently conserved in a private collection. In this canvas, the little sovereign is also portrayed half-length, gazing directly at the viewer, with a suit of short puffed sleeves and straight neckline. However, it varies physiognomy -the queen of girl was blonde, with blue eyes, and also the way you present the character. Although in this example the girl holding the band of the Order of Carlos III, a military order established by that monarch, and whose maximum representative is the king of Spain, painting by Madrazo follows the scheme of official portrait: after the girl appears a table with the crown and the scepter, real, symbols of majesty.

The one we present here is, therefore, an official portrait, not of a queen girl, but a princess, judging by the lack of symbolic elements of character monarchical. As in other portraits of representation of the same era, the model looks serene at the front, with the mouth closed in a half smile, richly dressed and jewelled. The painter has paid special attention to the portrayal of the qualities of the fabrics and jewelry, looking to put them with fidelity and ornamental richness.