The standing, full-length portrait is one of the most characteristic models of federico de madrazo's apparatus; he had coined it some years before in the heat of his french experience and he perfected it throughout his career as he assimilated more deeply the portraits of spanish painting of the golden age. Josefa coello, represented at about thirty years of age, wears a gala dress with a long smooth green brocade skirt, adorned with a striking and original double keel of lace and bows, which replaced in the mid-1950s the fashion of adorning gala dresses with ruffles of cloth or lace. Behind her, on a chair, elegantly rests her wool shawl, painted much more fluidly than the details of the dress carefully described in the foreground, especially her sophisticated jewelry, among which the striking fantasy bracelet representing a boat and a fish that adorns her right arm stands out. It is very unique that the sitter wears the band of the order of noble ladies of queen maría luisa in this portrait, since this was not imposed on her by elizabeth ii until february 19, 1859, several years after the painting was completed. It could, therefore, be a later repainting, but it is also possible that he received communication of this important decoration in time to include it in this portrait, although the actual imposition was delayed for some time. The modeling of the figure is soft and diffused and in its execution madrazo has given special prominence to the elegant and contained expression of the eyes and hands. The artist uses his resources as a portraitist to give josefa coello a sophisticated presence, placing her rotund three-quarter silhouette and illuminating her figure only partially, thus managing to make her waist much more slender. A preparatory drawing of the sofa that appears behind the lady is known, in which madrazo carefully studied the shading effect of the tufting and the tassel trimmings of the sofa and cushions. Object Type: painting. Date: 1855. Dimensions: height: 185 cm (72.8 in); width: 117 cm (46 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Museo del Prado. Josefa Coello de Portugal, por Federico de Madrazo
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