Anonymous, British
Portrait of 12th Count of Puñonrostro
ca. 1808-1815
oil on canvas
232 x 150 cm
Inv. no. P05629
BBVA Collection Spain
For decades, the authorship of this work has been the centre of heated discussion among art historians.
Initially, it was thought to have been painted by Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), due to the quality of the landscape and the psychological insight into the sitter, apart from its similitude in terms of the composition and the pose of the character with other works by Goya, like the Marqués de San Adrián (1804, Museo Naval, Pamplona).
In 1957, Martín S. Soria put forward an attribution to Agustín Esteve (1753-1820), a painter profoundly influenced by Goya. However, the rigidity of Esteve’s works, as well as the hieratic attitude of his characters and the coldness of their gazes belie the simplicity and free-flowing brushwork of this particular painting.
Professor Jesús Urrea ventured that it might be a work by the Italian Domenico Pellegrini (1759-1840), an artist trained as a portrait maker in England who passed through Spain on his way to Lisbon in 1807.
In turn, Emilio Lafuente Ferrari also noted the remarkable resemblance of this work with the aesthetic of Pellegrini and of Goya, both in technique and in the way in which the character has been depicted.
In 2000, a restoration report put forward the Portuguese painter Domingos Antonio de Sequeira (1768-1837) ―an artist strongly influenced by the English academic painter Thomas Lawrence (1739-1830) and by Goya― as a possible author, noting the very similar compositional structure with the portrait of Count of Farrobo (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon).
The latest attribution was proposed in 2001 by Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, who considered the piece an anonymous English work.
For sure, it is not easy to determine the exact authorship of this work. In it one can see how the influence of Spanish 19th century portraiture —hugely indebted to Goya— meets that of the English portraitists of the time —notably Thomas Lawrence― in the wooded, earthy landscape with cloudy skies, in the free-flowing brushwork and in the natural stance of the model, very much in keeping with English .
The work depicts the 12th Count of Puñonrostro, Juan José Mateo Arias Dávila, who was born in Quito on 22nd September 1783 and inherited the title in 1794.
In 1807 he arrived in Spain in the company of Mejía Lequerica. He played an important part in the Peninsular War, possibly the time when this portrait was made. In it, he is twenty-five to thirty years old, helping us to date the work between 1808 and 1815. A member of the Cadiz Cortes, he sat on its Honour and War committees. Arias Dávila was one of the signatories of the 1812 Constitution and Ferdinand VII granted him the title of Grandee of Spain. He died in Madrid on 6th September 1850.
The Spanish hereditary title of Count of Puñonrostro was first granted by Joanna I of Castile on 24th April 1523 to Juan Arias Dávila, to reward his services as a captain in the Comuneros Revolt in favour of Charles I. His name refers to a town in the south of the region of Madrid. Puñonrostro castle, a 15th century fortress which was the property of this title, was confiscated by the State in 1830 and currently belongs to the municipality of Torrejón de Velasco.
For over one century, this work remained the property of the descendents of the 12th Count of Puñonrostro, for it belonged to the 2nd Marchioness of La Conquista, María Natividad de Quindós y Villarroel (1863-1953), since 1896 the wife of Francisco de Asís Arias-Dávila-Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós, son of Francisco Javier Arias Dávila y Matheu Carondelet and grandson of the 12th Count of Puñonrostro; and later to Filomena Maturana y Matheu. In 1900 it entered the collection of the 2nd Marchioness of Almaguer, Rosalía Arias-Dávila Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós (1858-1926), the sister of Francisco de Asís Arias Dávila Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós, and in 1960 it was in the hands of the 7th Marquis of Morbecq (Manuel Pérez de Guzmán y Sanjuan (1896-1977), from where it entered the BBVA (Banca Catalana) Collection.
Initially, it was thought to have been painted by Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), due to the quality of the landscape and the psychological insight into the sitter, apart from its similitude in terms of the composition and the pose of the character with other works by Goya, like the Marqués de San Adrián (1804, Museo Naval, Pamplona).
In 1957, Martín S. Soria put forward an attribution to Agustín Esteve (1753-1820), a painter profoundly influenced by Goya. However, the rigidity of Esteve’s works, as well as the hieratic attitude of his characters and the coldness of their gazes belie the simplicity and free-flowing brushwork of this particular painting.
Professor Jesús Urrea ventured that it might be a work by the Italian Domenico Pellegrini (1759-1840), an artist trained as a portrait maker in England who passed through Spain on his way to Lisbon in 1807.
In turn, Emilio Lafuente Ferrari also noted the remarkable resemblance of this work with the aesthetic of Pellegrini and of Goya, both in technique and in the way in which the character has been depicted.
In 2000, a restoration report put forward the Portuguese painter Domingos Antonio de Sequeira (1768-1837) ―an artist strongly influenced by the English academic painter Thomas Lawrence (1739-1830) and by Goya― as a possible author, noting the very similar compositional structure with the portrait of Count of Farrobo (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon).
The latest attribution was proposed in 2001 by Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, who considered the piece an anonymous English work.
For sure, it is not easy to determine the exact authorship of this work. In it one can see how the influence of Spanish 19th century portraiture —hugely indebted to Goya— meets that of the English portraitists of the time —notably Thomas Lawrence― in the wooded, earthy landscape with cloudy skies, in the free-flowing brushwork and in the natural stance of the model, very much in keeping with English .
The work depicts the 12th Count of Puñonrostro, Juan José Mateo Arias Dávila, who was born in Quito on 22nd September 1783 and inherited the title in 1794.
In 1807 he arrived in Spain in the company of Mejía Lequerica. He played an important part in the Peninsular War, possibly the time when this portrait was made. In it, he is twenty-five to thirty years old, helping us to date the work between 1808 and 1815. A member of the Cadiz Cortes, he sat on its Honour and War committees. Arias Dávila was one of the signatories of the 1812 Constitution and Ferdinand VII granted him the title of Grandee of Spain. He died in Madrid on 6th September 1850.
The Spanish hereditary title of Count of Puñonrostro was first granted by Joanna I of Castile on 24th April 1523 to Juan Arias Dávila, to reward his services as a captain in the Comuneros Revolt in favour of Charles I. His name refers to a town in the south of the region of Madrid. Puñonrostro castle, a 15th century fortress which was the property of this title, was confiscated by the State in 1830 and currently belongs to the municipality of Torrejón de Velasco.
For over one century, this work remained the property of the descendents of the 12th Count of Puñonrostro, for it belonged to the 2nd Marchioness of La Conquista, María Natividad de Quindós y Villarroel (1863-1953), since 1896 the wife of Francisco de Asís Arias-Dávila-Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós, son of Francisco Javier Arias Dávila y Matheu Carondelet and grandson of the 12th Count of Puñonrostro; and later to Filomena Maturana y Matheu. In 1900 it entered the collection of the 2nd Marchioness of Almaguer, Rosalía Arias-Dávila Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós (1858-1926), the sister of Francisco de Asís Arias Dávila Matheu y Bernaldo de Quirós, and in 1960 it was in the hands of the 7th Marquis of Morbecq (Manuel Pérez de Guzmán y Sanjuan (1896-1977), from where it entered the BBVA (Banca Catalana) Collection.
