This is Fortuny’s most virtuosic work from the time he spent in Rome.
It is his first attempt at a genre painting. A young man stands in front of the Baroque fountain at the Villa Borghese. His affectedly elegant and distant attitude is emphasised by the 18th-century jacket, waistcoat and shirt, sword and powdered wig. The figure is of a common type at the time, but Fortuny gives it his own twist. His artistry can be seen in the subtle transparency of the water in the fountain, the skill in arranging the shades and the splendid sense of colour.
Details of the work
Object
Painting
Dimensions
56.3 cm x 39 cm
Technique
Watercolour on paper