Artwork
Caza muerta y una cesta
Caza muerta y una cesta is an oil painting by the Barbizon school artist Ginés Andrés de Aguirre. It dates from 1701 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1701, *Caza muerta y una cesta* is an oil painting by the Spanish genre‑scene painter Ginés Andrés de Aguirre. The work is part of the collection of the Museo del Prado and is associated with the Barbizon school movement, despite its early date. It presents a quiet outdoor tableau that exemplifies Aguirre’s focus on everyday rural life.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a wicker basket set upon a cloth, with a cat perched atop it and looking directly outward. The basket rests before a solitary tree whose branches stretch leftward, while additional trees and a blue, cloud‑dotted sky fill the background. The straightforward arrangement conveys a sense of calm and domestic simplicity, inviting the viewer into a moment of stillness.
Technique & Style
The overall style aligns with the naturalistic tendencies of the Barbizon school, emphasizing observation of ordinary subjects in an unembellished setting.
Executed in oil on canvas, the painting displays a restrained palette of earth tones and muted blues. Aguirre renders the textures of wicker, fur, and foliage with careful brushwork, achieving a modest degree of realism without dramatic chiaroscuro. The overall style aligns with the naturalistic tendencies of the Barbizon school, emphasizing observation of ordinary subjects in an unembellished setting.
History & Provenance
After its completion in the early eighteenth century, the painting entered the holdings of the Museo del Prado, where it remains on display. Its provenance prior to acquisition by the museum is not extensively documented, but the work has been catalogued as part of the Prado’s Spanish genre‑painting collection.
Context
Ginés Andrés de Aguirre is chiefly remembered for scenes of urban and pastoral life, often portraying modest activities in the Spanish countryside. *Caza muerta y una cesta* reflects this interest, focusing on a simple hunting still‑life motif—a dead game basket—combined with a domestic animal. The piece illustrates the broader European trend of the period toward depicting everyday subjects with quiet dignity.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ginés Andrés de Aguirre (21 October 1727, Yecla - 18 July 1800, Mexico City) was a Spanish painter. Most of his works are urban or pastoral genre scenes.
Landschaft mit drei Bauern
Still Life
A sheperdess with her flock in a mountainous landscape
Bildnis von drei Kindern in einer Landschaft mit Jagdbeute
A Still Life with Dead Birds and a Hare
Still Life with Cock
Orpheus and the Animals
Landskap med Maria Magdalena
Peasants conversing
Waldlandschaft mit Tieren