Artwork
Portrait of Don Ignacio Cecilio Algara Gómez de la Casa
Portrait of Don Ignacio Cecilio Algara Gómez de la Casa is an oil painting by Pelegrí Clavé. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.
About this work
Overview
Pelegrí Clavé, a Barcelona‑born painter active in the early nineteenth century, completed an oil portrait in 1840 of Don Ignacio Cecilio Algara Gómez de la Casa. The work is presently held by the Brooklyn Museum and exemplifies the artist’s engagement with portraiture during his career, which later included a lengthy period in Mexico.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter is shown with dark hair, wearing a brown jacket over a white shirt and a black bow tie, set against a muted brown backdrop. The formal attire and restrained setting suggest a dignified, possibly professional, representation intended to convey the subject’s social standing.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting employs a limited palette of earth tones that model the figure with subtle gradations of light and shadow. Clavé’s handling of the brush creates a sense of three‑dimensionality, while the soft background recedes, focusing attention on the sitter’s face and clothing.
History & Provenance
Created in 1840, the portrait entered the collection of the Brooklyn Museum at an unspecified date. Clavé’s career, marked by a move to Mexico where he taught, situates the work within the broader trajectory of Spanish Romantic painters who worked abroad.
Context
During the 1840s, Romanticism in Spain emphasized individual character and emotional presence, often expressed through portraiture. Clavé’s approach aligns with this trend, combining realistic detail with a subdued, atmospheric background that reflects contemporary tastes for refined, personal likenesses.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pelegrí Clavé i Roqué sometimes Pelegrin Clavé (17 June 1811, Barcelona – 13 September 1880, Barcelona) was a Spanish painter in the Romantic style who lived and taught in Mexico for many years.
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