Echoes of an era

During the 19th century, portraiture established itself as a prominent way of depicting society and its many changes. As the bourgeois classes prospered, new opportunities arose for artists to portray the most prominent individuals of the day. The exhibition XIX. El segle del retrat. Col·leccions del Museo del Prado at Caixaforum Barcelona offers a representative selection of the portrait painting phenomenon in the 19th century, undoubtedly the preamble to modernity.

The exhibition includes the painting Ferdinand VII in an encampment, a work by the artist Francisco de Goya created after 1815, and also Oriental, by Francesc Masriera, an oil painting on canvas created in 1892. The work depicts a woman dressed in traditional Middle Eastern clothing. Masriera is known for his portraits and scenes of everyday life.

Photography, on the other hand, was born in the mid-19th century and was an important tool for portrait artists. This new technology enabled portraitists to capture the image of people more quickly and accurately. From among the collection of photographs we find the Count de Chaumont-Quitry, Aline Masson and Raimundo de Madrazo, posing in an intimate and cordial atmosphere. The photograph was taken on albumen paper on cardboard and is in the Photographic Archive of the Museo Nacional del Prado, which has loaned it for the exhibition. This image offers an intimate, close-up view of 19th-century personalities at a time when photography was beginning to establish itself as an important tool for representing the society of the time.

Portraits evolved with the approach to realism and the introduction of photography, and continued to be an important tool for artists to represent society in all its complexity and diversity.

Tickets, which in addition to this exhibition give access to all the other exhibitions at the centre, can be purchased in this link.