Children in Japanese Hall

Children in Japanese Hall

This painting is without doubt a small jewel. Though, because of its size it might be considered a minor work, it is actually one of his most brilliant. The painter, the first Spaniard to become a trully cosmopolitan artist, enjoyed international fame and earned a large number of commissions throughout his short life. However in this small work -Fortuny was certainly a specialist in small fomats- he wasn't working "on commission". He painted it just a few months before he died, never really finishing it, and is a reflection of his search in the last years of his life to find new roads and outlets for his painting. Thus, while some elements of the scene - such as the girl's leg - are perfectly drawn with meticulous detail, other parts of the painting show such loose, separated brush strokes that one might say that this presages Impressionism. The children in the painting are Mariano and Maria Luisa, the product of his marriage to Cecila Madrazo, the daughter of Federico Madrazo. Source: Prado Museum, Madrid