Eugenio Lucas Velázquez is unquestionably one of the most interesting nineteenth-century Spanish painters. Drawing inspiration from Goya’s compositions, he made the most of his extraordinary powers of observation to paint intensely dramatic scenes within the purest and most genuine romantic spirit, creating a highly characteristic vernacular imaginary in a personal original language.

Permeated with mystery and strength, Lucas Velázquez’s practice distanced itself from the picturesque, complacent representations then in demand in foreign markets. With a totally opposed vision, and influenced by Goya’s most incisive and expressive paintings, he developed instead a version of Costumbrismo in the so-called veta brava style, aimed at offering a grotesque image of Spanish tradition. This is well exemplified in this painting, created in the 1850s, the decade when the artist achieved fame.

Though relatively unknown, this work is of the utmost quality and highly characteristic of the artist’s output. It represents the historical boulevard in Seville known as Alameda de Hércules, where the local festivities of St John and St Peter, which heralded the annual April Fair, were held in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. During these celebrations it was customary for young girls to walk there at midnight to sip some of the miraculous water that flowed from its fountains, for it was believed that whoever drank this water would find true love.

Lucas Velázquez conveys the sense of liveliness in this crowded scene with remarkable technical mastery. Worth mentioning is the play of lights and shadows and the evident prior study of the composition. He uses the vertical axis formed by the two columns at the centre of the image to divide the scene into two very different spaces: one is deserted, while the other is densely populated with a bustling crowd of figures from all walks of life who mingle and converse around the different stalls.

The legacy of Goya’s aesthetics is noticeable both in the palette of colours and in the spontaneous execution, defined by free-flowing, expressive and energetic brushwork visible throughout the whole painting, particularly in the figures, sketchily rendered to underline the dynamism of the festive event. In this way, the painter succeeds in transmitting his innermost world, interpreting the lessons learned from Spain’s best painting tradition.