Rogelio de Egusquiza

Sale: Christie's, London, June 14, 2006, lot 60, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in very good state. The canvas has an old glue lining which is supporting the painting well. Some of the cracking has become slightly raised in the dress and the lining could easily be changed if required. The texture of the paint is very vigorous despite the lining. There are a few spots of retouches in front of the face in the grey background and although retouching does not show strongly under ultraviolet light, there is a fairly large group of old restorations visible to the naked eye in the lower right running along the running bottom edge. Nonetheless, the painting is in very nice condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The Paris studios attracted hundreds of young European and American artists; they flocked to France for an opportunity to study with the French Masters and would adopt their technique and artistic philosophy. This mass migration to France and the embrace of the French style by these artists underscored the influence and authority of the artistic establishment in France throughout the nineteenth century. 

One of Spain's best-known painters, Rogelio de Egusquiza, was one of these artists. After frequent visits to Paris as a child, he moved to the French capitol in 1868 and studied with Léon Bonnat, a well-known portrait painter. A decade later, Egusquiza's studio in the fashionable Faubourg St. Honoré district became a regular meeting place for artists, writers and musiciains and Lady in Pink most likely dates from this period. Like his contemporaries, most notably artists  Alfred Stevens, James Tissot and Édouard Manet, Egusquiza found his "muse" in the contemporary woman of Paris society. Here, he shows his model in a dress made of the finest pink satin and lace, most likely the latest design from the famed Maison Paquin on the Rue de la Paix. The setting is a well appointed interior of fine French furniture and the requisite Japanese screen. The same type of subject - beautifully dressed women placed in interiors or outdoor settings - was also found in contemporary works by Alfred Stevens and James Tissot (figs. 1 and 2), and what resulted was a subject and style that could only have been characterized as French during the Belle Époque.