Lot 60: Raimundo de Madrazo y Garretta (Spanish, 1841-1920) Flirtation

Flirtation
signed 'R.Madrazo' (lower right)
oil on canvas
70 x 121cm (27 9/16 x 47 5/8in).

Raimundo de Madrazo came from a distinguished artistic dynasty which included his grandfather José de Madrazo (1781-1859), a neoclassical painter and his father Frederico 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 spent little of his working life in Spain. He lived for many years in Paris. There he was influenced by the Belgian artist, Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) and his brother-in-law, Mariano Fortuny (1838-1874). From that time his style changed from historical and academic paintings to the more intimate genre paintings of the Belle Epoque.
In 1882, with Giuseppe de Nittis (1846-1884), 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 are female portraits which express an exquisite aristocratic or bourgeois ideal.
As in the present lot for example, the couple are placed in a refined and sumptuous setting, most probably in a Paris Salon.
The intimate atmosphere is described by the couple's distinguished taste and elegance. Their garments such as her stylish dress, silk shoes and the ribbon in her hair are a testament to the Parisian Salon atmosphere.

The influence of Japanese art is suggested by the screen which divides the two rooms.
The composition is split into two halves, each serving as counterpoint to the other. To the left of the composition, the young couple is enjoying a flirtation while on the right, the chaperone is reading and keeps an eye on them.

Madrazo enjoyed huge success as an artist all over the world, including the United States where the Vanderbildt family where perhaps his most faithful patrons.