Artwork
Dama con abanico
Dama con abanico is an oil painting by José Gutiérrez de la Vega. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting’s focus on refined gesture and material luxury aligns it with portraiture that signals status and modernity within the period’s conventions.
The subject is a seated woman holding an open hand fan, rendered in three-quarter view against a neutral background.
The fan’s painted decoration and the sitter’s attire suggest mid-nineteenth-century Spanish fashionable life. The fan and the gemstones in her jewelry function as emblems of contemporary elite culture and social display. The painting’s focus on refined gesture and material luxury aligns it with portraiture that signals status and modernity within the period’s conventions.
Technique & Style
The portrait is painted in oil on canvas, measuring 112.5 × 86.5 cm. Handling is smooth and refined, with careful attention to the play of light across the sitter’s face and costume, typical of mid-nineteenth-century Spanish portraiture. The figure’s attire, including the lace collar and dark dress, is rendered with precise yet fluid brushwork, while the fan is depicted with delicate highlights to suggest translucent material and gilded embellishments. The controlled finish and subtle transitions in tone emphasize the subject’s poised elegance, aligning with the academic standards of the period.
History & Provenance
The portrait known as Dama con abanico was created in 1845 by the Spanish artist José Gutiérrez de la Vega. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 112.5 cm in height and 86.5 cm in width. The painting depicts a female subject holding a hand fan and adorned with gemstones.
It is currently held in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it remains part of the institution's holdings. No specific details regarding the original commission, earlier ownership history, or the chain of custody prior to its arrival at the museum are provided in the available records.
Context
The painting was created by José Gutiérrez de la Vega, a Spanish portraitist active in the mid-19th century, and depicts a woman holding a hand fan adorned with a gemstone. Executed in oil on canvas in 1845, it measures 112.5 cm by 86.5 cm and belongs to the portrait genre. It is housed in the Museo del Prado, where it is recognized as part of the museum's collection of 19th-century Spanish portraiture.
The work reflects the artist's engagement with contemporary Spanish aristocratic fashion and the symbolic use of personal accessories in portraiture, situating it within broader discussions of identity and representation in European art of the period.
Overview
Created in 1845 by Spanish painter José Gutiérrez de la Vega, Dama con abanico is an oil on canvas portrait. The work presents a solitary female figure seated before a dark, unadorned backdrop, drawing attention to her attire and the delicate objects she holds.
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Artist & collection
Artist
José Gutiérrez de la Vega y Bocanegra (26 December 1791 – December 1865) was a Spanish painter who specialized in portraits and religious subjects.
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