Attributed to EUGENIO LUCAS VELÁZQUEZ (Madrid,... Lot 1

Attributed to EUGENIO LUCAS VELÁZQUEZ (Madrid, 1817 - 1870). Untitled. Oil on canvas. Measurements: 74 x 50 cm; 90 x 65 cm (frame). The brushstroke and the theme of this work bring us closer to the painting of Eugenio Lucas. In the center of the scene, a character takes up almost the totality of a space that is diluted in the shadows. On this darkness, the ochre of the body and the white of the protagonist's shirt stand out, as well as the sketchy figures in the background, which are barely perceptible. The dim lighting, the fast and strongly applied brushstroke and the composition in a cross shape are reminiscent of Goya's painting "Vuelo de Brujas" (Flight of Witches), making up an image of great expressiveness and evident artistic skill. Eugenio Lucas is considered the Spanish romantic painter who best understood Goya's art, becoming the most important and passionate follower of the Goyaesque universe after the death of the brilliant Aragonese painter, whose essence he managed to assimilate to the point of making it difficult on certain occasions to correctly attribute some of his works. In Goya's painting, Lucas Velázquez found the starting point to develop an imaginative personal painting, of fantastic visions and unleashed passions, within the purest romantic style. He also took the subject matter from Goya, and painted scenes of the Inquisition, covens, pilgrimages and bullfights. He also painted, in 1850, the now disappeared ceiling of the Royal Theater of Madrid, and later he was named honorary chamber painter and knight of the order of Carlos III by Queen Isabel II. As a good romantic, he made several trips, among which his stays in Italy, Morocco and Paris stand out. His works are characterized by the use of a spirited brushstroke and a casual style, without draftsmanship concerns, with a dense and impastoed matter of great chromatic richness and with the presence of strong chiaroscuro. He achieved great success as a painter of manners and scenes of fantastic and sinister character, although it is true that he was also an excellent landscape painter and portraitist. His work is well represented in the Prado Museum, and also in other centers such as the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Goya Museum in Castres (France).