Completed Continental European after 1800, Continental European before 1800, Dress and Textiles 33 Who painted this portrait, once thought to be by Goya? Could the sitter have belonged to a well-known Mexican family?

BRM_BIFA_40_5
Topic: Artist

This portrait was painted in Mexico in the late 18th century. The sitter is wearing a white fichu (a small triangular shawl) and covered with a larger yellow shawl. The image on the brooch is based on the widely copied ‘Nuestra Señora de la Soledad’ (Our Lady of Sorrows) by Gaspar Becerra (1520–1568). The hairstyle consists of a pouf, which was popular at that time.

It is thought to have been painted in a studio, as the quality of the hands and the background are far from the face’s quality. Maybe the professor retouched the face and the apprentice painted the rest of the portrait.

I would be so grateful if someone could provide any information about the author as well as about the sitter.

Art UK comments:
The collection purchased this work as by Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) with the title ‘A Portrait of the Artist’s Mother’. It was acquired along with two letters, dated 8th October 1776, supposedly written by Goya, which refer to a portrait of this subject. They are now believed to be fakes.

According to the NICE Paintings record, correspondence from Xavier Bray of Dulwich Picture Gallery (October 2012) suggested that it may have been painted by 'a Spanish artist working in Mexico City and associated to the Academy de San Carlos', perhaps Francisco Folch de Cardona (1744–1808).

Provenance: D. Fernando Baron; purchased by Duque del Infantado, Madrid, around 1925; Mr W. T. Russell, Kent, 1933; purchased by Mr B. Averkieff, 1937; J. B. Manson, 1940.

Exhibitions: El Arte en Espagña, Barcelona, 1929, cat. no. 3093.

Publications: Catalogue of the paintings, drawings and miniatures in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Cambridge, 1952, p. 54 (as by Goya).

Fatima Vicente Cordero, Entry reviewed by Art UK

Completed, Outcome

This discussion is now closed. This portrait, previously listed as ‘Spanish School’, has been attributed to José Campeche y Jordán (1751–1809), who was the most important Puerto Rican painter of portraits and religious subjects of his day. The attribution was recently proposed independently by Guillaume Kientz, Director of the Hispanic Society, New York.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion. To anyone viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all the comments that led to this conclusion.

32 comments

Jacinto Regalado,

I can find no mention of Francisco Folch de Cardona working outside of Spain, where he worked in Valencia, Murcia and ultimately in Madrid as portrait painter to the court of Charles IV. He appears to have been a rather mediocre artist, probably not up to a face as sensitively rendered as the one in the picture under discussion.

Fatima Vicente Cordero,

The hypothesis I am working with is that it is a portrait painted in Mexico, probably by the apprentice and the teacher. I do not consider that it is someone training at the Academy of San Carlos since they entered with better skills in drawing, which is incompatible with the perspective mistakes as the background work.

I think the portrait is located somewhere in Mexico where the image of the Virgen de la Soledad by Gaspar Becerra was worshiped, probably Puebla or Oaxaca.

Jacinto Regalado,

What is the evidence for this picture being painted in Mexico? The image on the brooch is of Spanish origin by a 16th century Spanish painter-sculptor, and the source work was a carved image lost during the Spanish Civil War. Similar images are found and venerated throughout Spain. In other words, what evidence establishes that this picture was not painted in Spain?

Jacinto Regalado,

There is another question to be asked: If the supposed Goya letters used to support the attribution to him were fakes, is it not possible that the painting itself is also fake? That is to say, could the painting have been made expressly to deceive, possibly in the first quarter of the 20th century, so it could be sold as a latter 18th century Goya?

Fatima, am I right that you think the closest parallel for the image of the Virgin on the sitter's brooch may be a depiction from late 17th-century Puerto Rico? Do you have a link to this image please? Jacinto notes the Spanish origin and remarks that similar images are found and venerated throughout Spain.

The fichu seems to have been worn widely in Europe and the Americas in the 18th century, but are the yellow shawl and elaborate hair bow recognisably Mexican?
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/traditional-mexican-dress

There appears to be a vaguely similar hair bow in the Colonial School, 18th century, 'Life-sized waist length portrait of a young society bride ...' on Mutual Art. Someone should be able to find better comparisons in due course.

Jacinto Regalado,

The original source image for that on the brooch and other such images in Spain, Puerto Rico and Mexico, which was not a painting but a devotional sculpture by Gaspar Becerra, can be seen in two photographs from the earlier part of the 20th century taken in Madrid, where the image was kept until it was destroyed in 1936:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Señora_de_la_Soledad#/media/Archivo:Virgen_de_la_Soledad_de_la_Victoria._Archivo_Moreno.jpg

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Señora_de_la_Soledad#/media/Archivo:Procesión_de_la_Soledad_de_la_Victoria._Viernes_Santo._1915..jpg

In other words, unlike the Virgin of Guadalupe, this is not a Virgin peculiar to Mexico but one whose iconography is of Spanish origin, although the type had come to Spain from France by way of Elizabeth of Valois, the French queen of Philip II of Spain.

Jacinto Regalado,

The painting in question may still have been made in Mexico, but the brooch does not prove that, which is why I asked earlier what the evidence was for a Mexican origin. I am assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that the first person mentioned in the provenance history in the NICE Paintings entry, D. Fernando Baron, who presumably sold the painting around 1925 to a Spanish nobleman, was either Mexican or based in Mexico, but even that per se does not establish where the painting originated.

Jacinto Regalado,

I suppose the yellow shawl looks "indigenous," but that may be analogous to shawls from India worn by women in Britain during the colonial era. However, I am certainly not familiar with fashions in Mexico at the time or colonial Hispanic portraiture.

Fatima Vicente Cordero,

Dear Jacinto and Marion,

Thank you very much for your comments; they are all really useful. I will try to answer them one by one.

About the origin, I realized that I could not prove it was Mexican or Spanish based on the suit and hairstyle since both styles are so close and similar due to the Spanish influence in Mexico. Therefore, I focused on the canvas. It cannot be seen in the image, but the canvas was cut so close to the edge and stretched very strongly, which is particular in Mexico because the bedding was really expensive, so they had to stretch it as much as possible. I have also noticed that there is a red background beneath the surface. It was a general practice firstly applying a level of reddish iron oxide. In the catalog of "Painted in Mexico, 1700-1790", it is also confirmed that "many new Spanish painters of the eighteenth century left red contours around their figures", which is also visible in the portrait of the Barber Institute.

About the Virgen de la Soledad, it is true that she was venerated in Spain but also in the colonies. It spread widely across America, Mexico in particular, and became very popular. It could definitely be an image of the Virgin of Mexico or Spain, but I only found two images very close to that of the brooch and they were painted in Puerto Rico and Mexico. The first is the oil on canvas by José Campeche, Puerto Rico 1751-1809 (http://www.mapr.org/es/arte/obra/virgen-de-la-soledad-de-la-victoria). The second is an image painted by Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez, Mexico 1666-1734 (https://figgeartmuseum.org/art/collections/item/mater-dolorosa-nuestra-senora-de-la-soledad-250323/376)

About the acquisitions, the farthest I could go is to 1925, when Fernando Barón and Martínez de Agulló sold it to Joaquín Ignacio de Arteaga y Echgüe, XVIII Duke of the Infantado. I also thought that the painting could have belonged to Baron's family, so I contacted an expert in Colonial History and specialized in genealogy, domumentatión, and heraldry in New Spain as Fernando Barón was III Conde de Colombí. He told me that Baron's ancestors had not been in Mexico. The only possible explanation is that he acquired it.

Also, I have been in touch with Colonial art experts and asked them for their opinions. Even if I cannot say it was painted by someone trained at the Academia de San Carlos, which seems not probable right now, they all agree it was painted in Mexico according to a stylistic basis.

I hope this clarifies the investigation a little more.

Jacinto Regalado,

Does that mean that Fernando Barón, the first known owner and seller of this picture, was a Spaniard based in Spain?

Jacinto Regalado,

Fernando Barón was a prominent political figure in Seville and also the equivalent of an MP. He was closely connected to the planning and organization for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 (a kind of world's fair) held in Seville, in which numerous former Spanish colonies participated, including Mexico.

Fatima Vicente Cordero,

Yes, he was. In fact, he was Comisario Regio at the exhibition. I have been trying to find some papers of his movable heritage to see when he acquired the painting, as well as from who, but I could not find anything. He died without descendants so I do not know where should I look at.

Jacinto Regalado,

Also, the Academy of San Carlos was apparently established and promulgated by the Spanish authorities, and it was staffed with Spanish artists. That means it is entirely possible that even if this portrait was painted in Mexico and depicts a Mexican woman, the painter could still be Spanish.

Jacinto Regalado,

I expect the reason the portrait looks sufficiently Goya-like that it could be passed off or taken for a Goya is probably that the artist was Spanish and working in the style then prevalent in Spain.

Fatima Vicente Cordero,

Absolutely. I also thought that, but the students at the Academy of San Carlos had better skills before entering the Academy. The perspective is wrong and the quality of the ground and the hands have nothing to do with the ones painted at the Academy.

Fatima and Jacinto, Thank you both for adding so much to the discussion. A very helpful contact at Sotheby's Latin American Department in Mexico City has kindly passed our enquiry to one of their experts in this area, so I hope to be able to post her thoughts on it soon. I had earlier sent a message to Ilona Katzew, curator of 'Painted in Mexico 1700–1790: Pinxit Mexici', via the enquiries desk at LACMA, but that may take a while to reach her.

Fatima Vicente Cordero,

Marion and Jacinto,

It is being a pleasure talking to you about the portrait; each of your comments is really helpful. Thank you so much for your help as well as for spreading the research to other experts.

I would like to thank Dr Michael Brown, Curator of European Art, San Diego Museum of Art, who is an expert on Mexican portraiture, for his comments:

'Looking at the Barber painting, I immediately thought of José Campeche, who was the leading painter in Puerto Rico in the late 18th century. Please see the portrait in the Thoma Collection (Chicago), which features a similar brooch of the Virgin of Sorrows. I think the Barber painting is from about the same period, perhaps just after 1800. The chair is similar to another portrait by Campeche of 1805.

It would help to have dimensions, support (canvas or panel?), and a condition report that describes the paint surface.

Xavier Bray’s comment about Folch de Cardona is also very relevant. It’s close to his style.'

José Campeche, 'Portrait of a Woman in Mourning', c.1805. The Thoma Foundation. https://bit.ly/2OohAO8

Jacinto Regalado,

Campeche (1751-1809), a Creole, was partly self-taught but was also taught or influenced by the Spanish painter Luis Paret y Alcázar, who worked in Puerto Rico for some three years in the 1770s. If this picture is by him, it is one of his best portraits, as the emphasis is on characterization as opposed to externals related to the sitter's socioeconomic status.

Thank you to Dr Rosario I. Granados, Marilynn Thoma Associate Curator, Art of the Spanish Americas at Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, for her comments:

'I loved the painting and was very intrigued by it but I am afraid I cannot support the attribution to a Mexican painter. The facial features, the bow on top of the sitter’s head, the silk shawl and even the hands, make me think more of a Colonial American painter, in which case the catholic brooch could be related to a New Orleans origin. However, a very similar brooch appears on a painting now in the Thoma Collection attributed to the Puerto Rican artist José Campeche. He was an accomplished portraitist. That is a line of research that could be worth exploring.'

José Campeche, 'Portrait of a Woman in Mourning', c.1805. The Thoma Foundation. https://bit.ly/2OohAO8

Alison Golding,

It occurs to me that "painted in Mexico" around 1800 covered a lot more territory than it would today, including much of what is now the south west USA, which might account for some of the confusion.

Jacinto Regalado,

As it happens, there was a prominent and historically significant (for the area) portrait painter in New Orleans during the last two decades of the 18th century who came from Mexico and was trained there. His name was José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (c. 1750-1802), and albeit quite competent for his milieu, he was less accomplished than Campeche. Examples below:

https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/images/stories/autumn_18/reviews/camp15.jpg

https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/images/stories/autumn_18/reviews/camp17.jpg

Jacinto Regalado,

Campeche's most important European influence, Luis Paret y Alcázar (1746-1799), was a court painter in Spain who was temporarily exiled to Puerto Rico due to a sexual scandal (he returned to Spain). In other words, his credentials and status were superior to those of the Spanish painters who settled in Mexico and taught at the Academy there. This would appear to be reflected in his Puerto Rican pupil's greater skills as compared to Salazar, who would have been taught by lesser painters at the Academy in Mexico City.

Here is a link to Luis Paret at the Prado, with images:

https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/artist/paret-y-alcazar-luis/71f47305-8b59-4677-9c46-03f24750532d

Jacinto Regalado,

Campeche, by the way, is more properly known as José Campeche y Jordán, according to Spanish usage (certainly in his day).

Jacinto Regalado,

As can be seen in the pictures by Paret at the Prado (see link above), he had a certain penchant for a bluish-grey tonality, which seems to be reflected in our picture. This, of course, is subjective and not hard evidence, but it would go with a picture by a Paret pupil.

Whaley Turco,

Why do I think this is a forgery or a fake or whatever the Proper term is. We have a figure that's competently drawn and painted. The face work and the clothing are well done. She is wearing the clothing it's not wearing her. But her hands are drawn to look either like they are arthritic and or clutching the clothing or both. WHY? What client would want that noted in their portrait. We get a peak at the Madonna, to set a time period and if you removed the chair she would appear to be standing. Then we have the chair. I think the artist was channelling Cezanne. Why would the Artist leave the Chair like that. Even if he had screwed it up that bad it's way too easy to fix. Inexplicable weirdness always smells like a lie, to me. Is it worth testing the paint and doing an x-ray?

Following Fatima Vicente Cordero, detailed & informative explanation (08/08/2019) as to why she believed the portrait was painted in Mexico or Puerto Rico rather than Spain, namely because of technical reasons such as the type of canvas and its method of stretching, I think we can reject the suggestion that it might be by Charles IV’s court artist Francisco Folch y Cardona, who never left Spain, as Jacinto pointed out.

The helpful comments of Dr Michael Brown, Curator of European Art, San Diego Museum of Art, & Dr Rosario Granados, the Marilynn Thoma Associate Curator, Art of the Spanish Americas at Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, both of whom have great expertise in Mexican and Latin American art, may help point towards a solution. Both of them independently suggested investigating the work of the Puerto Rican artist José Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809), pointing out the similarities between the Barber Institute’s portrait with Campeche’s, 'Portrait of a Woman in Mourning', c.1805. The Thoma Foundation https://bit.ly/2OohAO8 as both women wear a brooch with the same image of the Virgin of Solitude/Virgen de la Soledad. Therefore, I recommend that the portrait be ‘attributed to’ José Campeche, dated around 1800 and suggest that the sitter was probably a member of Puerto Rican society in the capital San Juan. Several other Campeche portraits (in Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/209953 and the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/iwEyLz6yuI1Rdw + https://www.mapr.org/en/museum/proa/artist/campeche-jose are of the Spanish colonial elite.

José Campeche, considered one of Latin America's leading 18th-century portraitists, was of biracial (Afro-Caribbean) descent, https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jose-campeche-y-jordan-7194 his enslaved father Tomás (1701-1780) having bought his freedom by carving and painting altarpieces. and his mother was from the Canary Islands. José Campeche was self-taught, following his father as a decorator and gilder before becoming a prominent painter of devotional art and portraits in Puerto Rico, and possibly learning about composition, style, and painting technique from imported prints and books as well as from the exiled Spanish court painter Luis Paret y Alcázar, who lived in Puerto Rico from 1775 through 1778.

It might be worthwhile retaining this thread on Art Detectives with a Campeche attribution to encourage further research on the painting, in the hope that the sitter might be identified. The collections of both the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña are being digitised with funding from Google Arts, and help from the actor singer-songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. They could perhaps be contacted for further information on Campeche, the potential sitter or the likely indigenous provenance of the lovely yellow shawl she wears. Although I note that the Smithsonian Museum of American Art site https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jose-campeche-y-jordan-7194 states that “details of Campeche’s life remain mysterious because his belongings were destroyed after his death”.

It is I assume possible that the reason why the women in both the Barber Institute’s portrait and that in the Thoma Foundation wear a brooch with the image of the Virgin of Solitude after Gaspar Becerra, is that they both belonged to the same lay religious society or sorority in San Juan?

Thank you, Xanthe, and Fatima Vincente Cordero for proposing this intriguing discussion in the first place.

I suggest we close this thread with the proposed attribution to José Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809), if the collection agrees, and start a new one with that name and Puerto Rico in the title.

Mark Wilson,

I wonder if an attribution to José Campeche y Jordán is being made more because he is the most prominent painter in the area where technical reasons suggest the picture comes from, rather than because of similarity with his existing works. Certainly the painting of the face and hair and clothing seems finer than anything else in his works I can see - even than his self-portrait.

I think the hands are well-painted as well, but as Whaley Turco pointed out, they are clearly the hands of someone with severe arthritis, swollen and curled over. The same thing might explain the awkward, semi-standing pose. People with arthritis often have to sit on several layers of cushions so as to keep their legs straighter to lessen pain in the knees. You could argue that the face also shows signs of chronic pain, and the wearing of a badge of the sorrowing Mary might also indicate a willingness to show suffering.

That said, I have no alternative candidates for the painter from the region and time than Campeche. If it is him, one possible subject might be his own mother. Unlike the local gentry who made up his usual sitters, there would be no restriction on the number of sittings or care that could be spent on such a portrait. You might also argue for some facial similarity with his own self-portrait:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:José_Campeche.JPG

and that the very large yellow shawl bears some resemblance to the manta esperancera of the Canary Islands where his mother originated. I couldn't find a death date for her, though a petition for relief from Campeche's two maiden sisters after his death in 1809 (towards the end of here):

http://buzonurbano.blogspot.com/2010/10/jose-campeche-vida-por-alejandro-tapia.html

makes it clear she was still alive and supported by her son after the death of her husband in 1780. Alternatively, the portrait might be of one of those sisters.

The Barber Institute would be very happy to accept this attribution to Campeche, which has been independently proposed in the last few days by Guillaume Kientz, Director of the Hispanic Society in NY. He is planning a Campeche exhibition 'in 2025 or so'. We'd like to thank Xanthe and the other contributors to this thread, as well as Fatima, for a very fruitful discussion.