Random Inspiration: Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta (1841-1920)

A Portrait of Aline Masson Leaning on a Sofa

26.25" X 13.875", oil on panel

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, Spanish, (1841 - 1920)

Born into a family of famous artists,  the Spanish painter, Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, was bound for greatness.  His early studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, and later in the studio of Leon Cogniet in Paris, prepared Madrazo for a career as a strict Academic painter.  Possibly under the influence of his brother-in-law, artist Mariano Fortuny, whose paintings were characterized by loose brushstrokes, Madrazo's art became more decorative, and his paint application, more direct, as his career progressed.  

In his pictures of his model and lover, Aline Masson, Madrazo achieved some of his greatest works, combining sensuality and elegance with his bravura brushwork and sophisticated palette. 

Madrazo's genre paintings of leisurely life were well sought-after in  fin de siècle Paris, and in the United States amongst its wealthy  collectors.  Today you can find his art in several American museums, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which owns several.