FOLLOWER OF FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES | Portrait of a man, half-length, in a lace-decorated coat

oil on canvas, in a painted oval Although not a direct copy after a particular work, the present painting is influenced by the work of Francisco de Goya, who was the most important Spanish artist of the last quarter of the 18th and first quarter of the 19th centuries, and who served three generations of Spanish kings. Goya was 37 when he secured his first important portrait commission from Spain’s Prime Minister, Count Floridablanca, and his reputation grew quickly. Ambitious and proud of his status, he gained patrons from the entire breadth of Spanish society: from the royal family and aristocrats, to intellectuals, politicians and military figures, to his own friends and family. Goya's portrait of Don Ramon de Posada y Soto in the The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco (inv. no. 61.44.26)1 is a useful example of the type of portrait on which the present work is clearly based. 1 https://art.famsf.org/francisco-jos%C3%A9-de-goya-y-lucientes/don-ramon-de-posada-y-soto-614426

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The canvas is relined, the paint surface is dirty, and the varnish is discoloured. There is quite a well-defined network of craquelure throughout, most visible in the sitter's face and cravat. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals small scattered retouchings in the background and around the oval, and some slightly larger areas approx. 1 x 3 cm. in the sitter's temple, beneath his proper right eye, and around his chin, along with fine lines of retouching to reduce the appearance of craquelure.
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