Artwork
Retrato mortuorio del pintor Joaquín Araujo

Retrato mortuorio del pintor Joaquín Araujo is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Manuel Poy Dalmau. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This visual metaphor reinforces the work's meaning as a meditation on mortality and the enduring legacy of the subject within the art world.
The work depicts the deceased painter Joaquín Araujo, presenting a posthumous likeness created shortly after his death in March 1894. As a mortuary portrait, the piece functions as a final commemoration of the artist, capturing his likeness in death rather than life. The iconography includes a candle, an element explicitly depicted within the composition that traditionally symbolizes the fleeting nature of life or the soul's passage.
This visual metaphor reinforces the work's meaning as a meditation on mortality and the enduring legacy of the subject within the art world.
Technique & Style
Manuel Poy Dalmau executed the Retrato mortuorio del pintor Joaquín Araujo in 1894 using oil paint applied to a panel support. The work measures 15 cm in height and 25 cm in width. As a posthumous portrait, the piece depicts the deceased artist alongside a candle, adhering to the formal conventions of the genre.
History & Provenance
Manuel Poy Dalmau executed this posthumous portrait of the painter Joaquín Araujo in 1894. The work was created on March 16, 1894, utilizing oil paint applied to a panel support. Measuring 15 cm by 25 cm, the painting depicts a candle, consistent with its function as a mortuary portrait.
The artwork currently resides in the collection of the Museo del Prado, which serves as its recorded location and holding institution.
The painting is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, as recorded in its Wikidata entry. The medium is given as oil paint on panel, with dimensions of 15 cm in height by 25 cm in width. The work was created in 1894 by Manuel Poy Dalmau.
No inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Context
The portrait was created by Manuel Poy Dalmau in 1894 as an oil painting on panel, depicting the deceased artist Joaquín Araujo holding a candle, and is housed in the Museo del Prado. Its creation shortly after Araujo's death reflects contemporary Spanish mourning rituals and academic portraiture conventions of the late 19th century. The work has been discussed in relation to Poy Dalmau's broader oeuvre of memorial portraiture and its thematic resonance with Spanish cultural attitudes toward artistic legacy.
Overview
Retrato mortuorio del pintor Joaquín Araujo is an oil painting by Manuel Poy Dalmau, dated to 1898. Contrary to its title suggesting a portrait of a deceased painter, the work actually depicts a serene still life scene.
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