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Lot Essay
One of the most celebrated and influential Spanish painters of the 19th Century, Mariano Fortuny enjoyed a brief but highly successful career. Having lived much of his life as an expatriate artist in Morocco and Rome, he became a central figure of the Spanish artistic colony in Italy - intimately connected with the circle of Spanish artists that included Frederico Zandomeneghi and Martin Rico. An accomplished painter and watercolorist, his repertory of subjects ranged from introspective single figure studies, to emotionally charged Orientalist subjects and genre scenes.
The reappearance of Council House, Granada reintroduces Fortuny as a key figure on the international artistic stage. Hailed as a tour de force, it is considered by scholars to be the artist's greatest work, combining a mastery of colorism with virtuoso brushwork. Commissioned by American banker Henry C. Gibson, the painting traveled to America as early as 1873 - later bequeathed to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where it has been housed until now. In a colorful anecdote, one journal mentioned the mysterious theft and brief disappearance of the Fortuny in 1877. The theft was discovered when a poor copy of the original was found in its frame after returning from a loan exhibition. According to the numerous accounts which divulged few details, the picture was found and returned the following November. Gibson was not Fortuny's only American patron - William H. Stewart, also of Philadelphia, was perhaps the most voracious collector of Fortuny. It is known that Stewart was instrumental in helping to secure the Gibson commission as evidenced by a letter from Fortuny to Stewart in December 1872 stating "I am almost finished with Mr. Gibson's picture".
Fortuny continued to be based in Rome until around 1870. Sensing political tensions between France and Spain after a short trip to Paris, he moved himself and his family to Granada for two years. His stay in the Moorish jewel in the heart of Andalusia proved inspirational. The possibility to paint en plein air provoked a decisive change in the character and style of his painting. Enchanted by the blazing Andalusian sun, light played a paramount role in works of this period. Liberated from the confines and predictability of studio painting and confronted with new surroundings and fresh subject matter, he moved towards to a more naturalistic approach in painting. So revelatory was his experience that Fortuny founded a local academy of painting, the Escuela Luminista - a school that would attract students and followers long after his departure.
In the present work, it is evident that Fortuny's approach to painting take a divergent path from his more traditional works. The scattered arrangement of the figures in front of the building reveals a spontaneity and truthfulness to life. Carlos Gonzales Lopez points out that Fortuny went so far as to include actual friends and family members in the painting. His wife Cecilia de Madrazo and their two children Maria Luisa and Mariano are present in the composition as well as his painter friend Martin Rico. Fortuny's desire to immortalize his closest family members and friends in the painting not only gives a more 'documentary' tone to the work but reveals his pleasure in painting daily life as it unfolds.
Fortuny's brilliant rendering of the Council House also takes no less of a documentary approach. Built in 1349 under the reign of Yusef I, the building originally housed the Escuela Musulmana de Ley Coranica religious school founded to teach Islam. After the conquest of the city by the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I in January 1492, the building assumed the function of a municipal hall until the late 19th Century. In the painting, the building comes to life, its wing pushing past the boundaries of the picture plane, thereby creating the wide and deep foreground. Emblazoned by the sunlight, the sun-drenched walls contrast with the deep blue of the sky and the delicate touches of red on the balcony. Other particularly beautiful passages include the luxuriant vegetation overhanging the balconies and the colorful dress of the figures, passages that are stylistically akin to Giovanni Boldini, whose work was admired by Fortuny.
Upon his return to Italy in 1872, Fortuny took the painting in a partially unfinished state to Rome where he finished it in December of 1872. Yet it was not until March of the following year that the work was actually signed 'Fortuny 1873'. Even though the present work was painted at the end of his career, remarkably, the artist showed no signs of decline. In fact, many would argue that Fortuny was at the height of his artistic powers - the years from 1870-74 found the artist busier than ever often working simultaneously on multiple projects.
One critic summed up the genius of Fortuny by commenting, "With Fortuny, the art of painting becomes an exercise in pure virtuosity. A marvelous fire that blinds you and all at once leaves you cold. He added such a fine color and fantastic richness that to his paintings which has made him one of the most exquisite acrobats with a palette" (quoted in L. Solvay, L'Arte espagnole, Paris, 1887).
We are grateful to Carlos Gonzáles López for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
*This lot may be exempt from sales tax as set forth in the Sales Tax Notice in the back of the catalogue.
The reappearance of Council House, Granada reintroduces Fortuny as a key figure on the international artistic stage. Hailed as a tour de force, it is considered by scholars to be the artist's greatest work, combining a mastery of colorism with virtuoso brushwork. Commissioned by American banker Henry C. Gibson, the painting traveled to America as early as 1873 - later bequeathed to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where it has been housed until now. In a colorful anecdote, one journal mentioned the mysterious theft and brief disappearance of the Fortuny in 1877. The theft was discovered when a poor copy of the original was found in its frame after returning from a loan exhibition. According to the numerous accounts which divulged few details, the picture was found and returned the following November. Gibson was not Fortuny's only American patron - William H. Stewart, also of Philadelphia, was perhaps the most voracious collector of Fortuny. It is known that Stewart was instrumental in helping to secure the Gibson commission as evidenced by a letter from Fortuny to Stewart in December 1872 stating "I am almost finished with Mr. Gibson's picture".
Fortuny continued to be based in Rome until around 1870. Sensing political tensions between France and Spain after a short trip to Paris, he moved himself and his family to Granada for two years. His stay in the Moorish jewel in the heart of Andalusia proved inspirational. The possibility to paint en plein air provoked a decisive change in the character and style of his painting. Enchanted by the blazing Andalusian sun, light played a paramount role in works of this period. Liberated from the confines and predictability of studio painting and confronted with new surroundings and fresh subject matter, he moved towards to a more naturalistic approach in painting. So revelatory was his experience that Fortuny founded a local academy of painting, the Escuela Luminista - a school that would attract students and followers long after his departure.
In the present work, it is evident that Fortuny's approach to painting take a divergent path from his more traditional works. The scattered arrangement of the figures in front of the building reveals a spontaneity and truthfulness to life. Carlos Gonzales Lopez points out that Fortuny went so far as to include actual friends and family members in the painting. His wife Cecilia de Madrazo and their two children Maria Luisa and Mariano are present in the composition as well as his painter friend Martin Rico. Fortuny's desire to immortalize his closest family members and friends in the painting not only gives a more 'documentary' tone to the work but reveals his pleasure in painting daily life as it unfolds.
Fortuny's brilliant rendering of the Council House also takes no less of a documentary approach. Built in 1349 under the reign of Yusef I, the building originally housed the Escuela Musulmana de Ley Coranica religious school founded to teach Islam. After the conquest of the city by the Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I in January 1492, the building assumed the function of a municipal hall until the late 19th Century. In the painting, the building comes to life, its wing pushing past the boundaries of the picture plane, thereby creating the wide and deep foreground. Emblazoned by the sunlight, the sun-drenched walls contrast with the deep blue of the sky and the delicate touches of red on the balcony. Other particularly beautiful passages include the luxuriant vegetation overhanging the balconies and the colorful dress of the figures, passages that are stylistically akin to Giovanni Boldini, whose work was admired by Fortuny.
Upon his return to Italy in 1872, Fortuny took the painting in a partially unfinished state to Rome where he finished it in December of 1872. Yet it was not until March of the following year that the work was actually signed 'Fortuny 1873'. Even though the present work was painted at the end of his career, remarkably, the artist showed no signs of decline. In fact, many would argue that Fortuny was at the height of his artistic powers - the years from 1870-74 found the artist busier than ever often working simultaneously on multiple projects.
One critic summed up the genius of Fortuny by commenting, "With Fortuny, the art of painting becomes an exercise in pure virtuosity. A marvelous fire that blinds you and all at once leaves you cold. He added such a fine color and fantastic richness that to his paintings which has made him one of the most exquisite acrobats with a palette" (quoted in L. Solvay, L'Arte espagnole, Paris, 1887).
We are grateful to Carlos Gonzáles López for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
*This lot may be exempt from sales tax as set forth in the Sales Tax Notice in the back of the catalogue.