Francisco de Goya

Luis María de Bourbon y Vallabriga (Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga)

Luis María de Bourbon y Vallabriga (Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga)
Datos Generales
Cronología
1783
Ubicación
Museum of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Dimensiones
134 x 113 cm
Técnica y soporte
Oil on canvas
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Documented work
Titular
PLAZA Foundation
Ficha: realización/revisión
18 Jan 2010 / 15 Jun 2023
Inventario
en depósito
Otros títulos:
Portrait of Don Luis María, as a Child, Studying Geography (Retrato de don Luis María, niño, estudiando Geografía)
Inscripciones

Al S. S. Luis María, Hixo del Ser. Infante D. Luis y de la muy ilustre S. D. Mar. Ter. Vallabriga, a los seis años y tres meses de edad ("To His Highness the Señor Infante Don Luis María, son of the Señor Infante Don Luis and her Highness the Señora Doña María Teresa de Vallabriga, at the age of six years and three months", on the map to the left, on the chair).

Historia

This work was commissioned by the Infante Luis Antonio Jaime de Bourbon. It has subsequently belonged to a number of different collections: that of Arenas de San Pedro (Ávila), 1783-1785; Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), 1785-1797; María Teresa de Vallabriga (1797-1820); María Teresa de Bourbon y Vallabriga (1820-1828); Carlota Luisa de Godoy y Bourbon (1828-1886); Alfonso Ruspoli y Godoy (1886-1914); Carlos Luis Ruspoli (1914-1936); and María del Rosario Ignacia Álvarez de Toledo Ruspoli, Marchioness of Pontejos (1943-2006). It was acquired in 2006 by the PLAZA Foundation and deposited that same year in the Museum of Zaragoza.

Análisis artístico

Luis María de Bourbon y Vallabriga (Cadalso de los Vidrios, Madrid, 1777-Madrid, 1823) was the son of the Infante Don Luis de Bourbon, brother of Charles III, and María Teresa de Vallabriga. From an early age he received a careful upbringing and education from great teachers, with whom he studied subjects which included geography, mathematics and natural sciences, as well as music and dance. Later on, his uncle Charles III sent Luis María to study in Toledo under the tutelage of a humanist cleric. There, the boy lived in the archbishop's palace and began to take an interest in the affairs of the Church, finally deciding to become a priest. He reached the rank of Archbishop of Seville in 1799 and was later designated cardinal by Pope Pius VII in 1800.

The portrait depicts the infante at the age of six, in the centre of the composition, inside a room (a study room). He is standing and his body is turned slightly to the right, whilst his head is looking straight out at the viewer. He is wearing court dress, with white shirt and stockings, a waistcoat, dress coat and trousers of a striking Prussian blue (indicating his belonging to a royal family). His clothes are decorated with lace frills at the cuffs and chest, as well as a large bow used to tie back his hair at the back of his neck and buckles both on the trousers and on his red, heeled shoes, a discrete reference to his noble standing. In his right hand he holds a piece of a geographical jigsaw puzzle, whilst with the other he holds a pair of compasses. Behind him and on the right-hand side of the composition are an armchair, against which a framed map of Europe rests, and which bears the inscription shown above. On the other side is a carved table decorated in gold, on top of which are laid out various paper maps and the jigsaw puzzle that the infante is about to finish. The infante's face stands out sharply against the neutral background, and is given even greater presence and a perceived proximity to the viewer thanks to the cold colours of his clothing.

Goya went on to paint Luis María de Bourbon y Vallabriga on two subsequent occasions, full length and dressed as cardinal, these two works today being found in the São Paulo Museum of Art (Brazil) and the Prado Museum, Madrid.

The work formed a pair with another, depicting the subject's sister,María Teresa de Bourbon y Vallabriga, future Countess of Chinchón, in a garden and with a natural landscape in the background (National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA).

Conservación

The condition of the painting prior to its restoration was reasonably good. However, small losses of material had occurred in the painting over time, affecting different areas of the surface, and caused by the craquelure in the paint layer.

The painting was restored at the Prado Museum in 2006.

Exposiciones
  • Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga
    Museo de Zaragoza
    Zaragoza
    2007
    organized by Fundación Goya en Aragón at the Museo de Zaragoza, consultant editors María Luisa Arguís and Miguel Beltrán Lloris. From September 25th 2007 to January 8th 2008
  • Goya e Italia
    Museo de Zaragoza
    Zaragoza
    2008
    organized by the Fundación Goya en Aragóna, consultant editor Joan Sureda Pons. From June 1st to September 15th 2008
  • Goya y el infante don Luis: el exilio y el reino.
    Palacio Real, Madrid
    Madrid
    2012
    Arte y ciencia en la época de la ilustración española. Responsable científico Francisco Calvo Serraller. Del octubre de 2012 a enero de 2013.
  • Goya: Order and disorder
    Museum of Fine Arts
    Boston
    2014
  • Goya: The Portraits
    London
    2015
Bibliografía
  • DESPARMET FITZ - GERALD, Xavier
    L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 vols
    París
    1928-1950
    vol. II, p.14, cat. 293
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p. 94, cat. 209
  • GUDIOL RICART, José
    BarcelonaPolígrafa
    1970
    vol. I, p. 258, cat. 149
  • CAMÓN AZNAR, José
    Francisco de Goya, 4 vols.
    ZaragozaCaja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, Aragón y Rioja
    1980-1982
    vol. I, p. 151 y 273 (il.)
  • GARCÍA GUATAS, M.
    La infanta María Teresa de Vallabriga en Zaragoza y su colección de pintura y alhajas
    Revista Artigrama
    Zaragoza
    2001
    pp.421-439
  • DOMÍNGUEZ FUENTES, S.
    Pinturas que poseyó el infante don Luis en la colección de Patrimonio Nacional (1845-1850)
    Goya
    Madrid
    2005
  • BELTRÁN LLORIS, Miguel (comisario) and ARGUÍS, María Luisa (comisaria)
    Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga. Francisco de Goya
    ZaragozaGobierno de Aragón, Dpto. de Educación, Cultura y Deporte
    2007
    cat. 10
  • SUREDA PONS, Joan (comisario)
    Goya e Italia, 2 vols.
    ZaragozaFundación Goya en Aragón y Turner
    2008
    pp. 298-299 (il.), cat. 272
  • JUNQUERA Y MATO, Juan José (comisario)
    Goya y el infante don Luis de Borbón (Homenaje a la “Infanta” María Teresa de Vallabriga)
    ZaragozaIbercaja
    1996
    p.27
  • ILCHMAN, Frederick y STEPANEK, Stephanie L. (comisarios)
    Goya: Order & Disorder
    BostonMuseum of Fine Arts Boston Publications
    2014
    pp. 110-111
  • BRAY, Xavier
    LondonNational Gallery Company
    2015
    pp. 43-44
Ficha en SAAC

Los Sistemas Aumentativos y Alternativos de Comunicación (SAAC) son formas de expresión distintas al lenguaje hablado, que tienen como objetivo aumentar (aumentativos) y/o compensar (alternativos) las dificultades de comunicación y lenguaje de muchas personas con discapacidad. Más info: Arasaac

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