Who painted Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara?

Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara was painted by Anton Raphael Mengs in 1774.

Where can I see Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara?

Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara is held by Museo del Prado.

What movement is Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara?

Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara is associated with Rococo painting.

Artwork

Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara

Anton Raphael Mengs , 1774

Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Anton Raphael Mengs. It dates from 1774 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.

About this work

Overview

Anton Raphael Mengs painted this oil portrait of the Spanish diplomat José Nicolás de Azara between 1773 and 1774 on a poplar panel. Completed in Florence in January 1774, the work shows Azara seated at a table, dressed in a blue jacket with a white shirt and gold‑trimmed collar, holding a red book.

Subject & Meaning

The sitter, José Nicolás de Azara, was a prominent diplomat and a personal friend of Mengs. His attire and the book he grasps convey his cultivated status and intellectual interests, while the plain grey backdrop focuses attention on his figure and expression.

Technique & Style

Mengs employed a restrained chiaroscuro to model the figure, creating a subtle sense of volume against the muted background. The oil on poplar panel allows fine detail in the fabric and the book, while the overall composition reflects the Neoclassical emphasis on clarity and balance.

History & Provenance

After Azara’s death the portrait stayed in his family’s collection. From 1928 to 1976 it was loaned to Zaragoza’s Museum of Fine Arts. In November 2012 the Museo del Prado acquired it from the Azara descendants for €180,000. A nearly identical canvas version, also by Mengs, entered the Getty Center’s collection in 2019.

Legacy

The portrait was reproduced in print several times. In 1781 Domenico Cunego engraved it in burin and drypoint from a drawing by Francisco Javier Ramos, and in 1784 Jacopo Bossi produced another engraving for an Italian translation of Winckelmann’s History of the Art of Antiquity, a volume dedicated to Azara by Winckelmann himself.