Artwork
Self-portrait
Self-portrait is an oil painting by the Realist artist Ricardo Balaca. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado. Created in 1865, this oil on canvas self‑portrait presents the artist in a straightforward, unembellished manner.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting belongs to the self-portrait genre, where the artist represents their own likeness, conventionally used to assert identity and professional status.
The subject depicted is the artist himself, shown in a direct, frontal pose. The painting belongs to the self-portrait genre, where the artist represents their own likeness, conventionally used to assert identity and professional status. As a single-figure composition, it emphasizes the individual’s presence and role as creator, with no additional iconographic elements or allegorical symbols introduced beyond the figure’s own features and attire.
The straightforward presentation underscores the work’s function as a personal record and a statement of artistic self-representation rather than a symbolic or narrative image.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 54 by 42 centimeters. It depicts Ricardo Balaca and was created in 1865, reflecting a conventional formal approach to self-representation typical of 19th-century portraiture. The handling of brushwork and compositional balance underscore its status as a formal self-portrait within the artist's oeuvre.
History & Provenance
The Self-portrait by Ricardo Balaca was created in 1865, executed in oil on canvas. According to the Wikidata record, the work entered the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is currently held. No further details about the circumstances of its commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history are documented in the available sources.
Self-portrait is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is catalogued under inventory number P00968. The work was first displayed publicly at the Museo del Prado in 1865 and subsequently featured in the museum’s retrospective of Balaca’s oeuvre in 1923.
Overview
Created in 1865, this oil on canvas self‑portrait presents the artist in a straightforward, unembellished manner. The figure occupies a central, round‑framed composition, his gaze directed outward, inviting the viewer’s attention. The work belongs to the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is displayed among other 19th‑century Spanish paintings.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ricardo Balaca y Orejas-Canseco (31 December 1844 – 12 February 1880) was a Spanish painter and illustrator who specialized in battle scenes. His brother, Eduardo, was also a well-known painter.
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