Ignacio Zuloaga

Madame Bulteau (a gift from the artist)
Maxime Dethomas (a relative of the above and Zuloaga's brother-in-law)
Private collection (acquired from the above in 1934)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 18 June 1986, lot 228
Dr Gustav Rau (purchased at the above sale); bequeathed by Dr Rau to the Foundation of the German Committee for UNICEF

Barcelona, 3a Exposició Internacional de Belles Artes, 1896
Madrid, Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1897, no. 1165
Tokyo, Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art; Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum; Matsue, Shimane Art Museum; Yokohama, Sogo Museum of Art; Matsuyama, The Museum of Art; Paris, Musée du Luxembourg; Rotterdam, Kunsthalle Rotterdam; Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum; Munich, Haus der Kunst; Bergamo, Accademia Carrara; Bogota, Casa de la Moneda; Portland, Portland Art Museum; Dayton, The Dayton Art Institute; Nashville, Tennessee State Museum: The Collection of Dr Rau, 1999-2006

Arsène Alexandre, 'Ignacio Zuloaga', in Le Figaro illustré, 15 April 1903, p. 7
La Nación, Buenos Aires, 17 November 1903
Vittorio Pica, 'Ignacio Zuloaga', in Emporium, Milan, vol. XIX, June 1904, p. 423
The International Studio, 1904
José María de Cossío, Los Toros, Tratado técnico e histórico, 1947, vol. II, pp. 895, 896, illustrated
Enrique Lafuente Ferrari, La vida y el arte de Ignacio Zuloaga, Madrid, 1950, pp. 217-218, no. 64, catalogued; possibly also p. 218, no. 70, catalogued; pp. 44, 181, cited
Enrique Lafuente Ferrari, The Life and Work of Ignacio Zuloaga, Barcelona, 1991, p. 492, no. 64, catalogued; possibly also p. 492-493, no. 70, catalogued; pp. 76, 245, cited

The canvas has not been lined. Ultraviolet light reveals some minimal spots and very minor strokes of retouching, predominantly in the background to the left of the figure. Although the old varnish fluoresces quite opaquely, it is unlikely that this is obscuring any further notable retouching. This painting is in very good, virtually original condition, and its appearance could be further enhanced if desired with a light surface clean. Held in a simple frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'In [his] paintings, full of men outside time and history, Zuloaga has given us a mirror to the soul of the Patria.'
Miguel de Unamuno

Painted in Seville in 1896.

Zuloaga first travelled to Seville in 1893. The trip proved pivotal to his art, as he distanced himself from the grey tones of his earlier Paris paintings to embrace the bright colours and vibrant folkloric subjects of southern Spain. He learnt caló, the gypsy patois, and took up bullfighting, enrolling in the school of Maestro Carmona. His paintings of this period - which draw inspiration not only from El Greco and Velazquez but from his contemporaries Manet and Picasso - also give powerful expression to the aims of the Generación del 98, a patriotic group of writers and painters to which Zuloaga belonged who sought to encourage the regeneration of Spain's culture following the loss of her colonies in the Spanish American War.

Indeed it was less the act of the bullfight that drew Zuloaga to the subject than its power as a symbol of Spain's national identity. Manuel Bartolomé Cossío, a leading art historian and member of the group, considered Zuloaga the supreme visual interpreter of the Generación, while Christian Brinton, writing in Modern Artists, concurred: 'He has read Spanish character in its most secret and intimate phases, and no one knows better than he that behind the laugh of cigarrera and the defiant bearing of torero lurks a latent diabolism which has not been subdued' (quoted by James Townsend, 'Zuloaga's Works Shown', Art News, 20 March 1909).