Spanish school, follower of ANTON RAPHAEL MENGS (Aussig, Bohemia, 1728-Rome, 1779); c. 1780. "Carlos IV as Prince of Asturias". Oil on canvas. Relined

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Old Masters

By Setdart Auction House

Jun 30, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-30 08:30:00 2021-06-30 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Old Masters https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7134
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• Lot Description
  Spanish school, follower of ANTON RAPHAEL MENGS (Aussig, Bohemia, 1728-Rome, 1779); c. 1780. "Carlos IV as Prince of Asturias". Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents a 20th century frame, following the Carlos IV style. Measures: 68.5 x 51 cm; 80 x 61 cm (frame). This oval format work follows the aesthetic precepts developed by Mengs, in the work "Prince of Asturias, future Charles IV", which belongs to the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid. In this case, the oval format limits the image collected by Mengs, showing only a long bust portrait, avoiding the landscape and concentrating the scene on the face of the Monarch. However, among the similarities, we can highlight a paragraph that is collected on the web page of the Museum's catalog "Of white complexion, light eyes, large and drooping nose and jutting jaw, the prince wears a white wig, dresses in a field coat and bark-colored breeches, suede jacket with gold buttons and gold braid, and wears high black boots. He has crossed the bands of the orders of San Gennaro -red- and Saint Esprit -blue-, and on his coat is pinned the insignia of the Golden Fleece and sewn a silver cross, presumably the Neapolitan cross of San Gennaro". The work stands out for the naturalness with which the effigy of the monarch is portrayed, slightly turned, but with his face directed to the viewer, sketching a slight smile, which communicates to whoever observes the piece. Thus showing a close and affable personality, addressed to his subjects, and defining at the same time the artist, the features of the psychological portrait. Painter and theorist of neoclassicism, Anton Raphael Mengs was formed both in the practical aspect of painting and in the theory of art, under the influence of Winckelmann, of whom he was a friend and outstanding student. He trained in Dresden under the direction of his father, Ismael Mengs, a court painter. Later, between 7141 and 1744, he traveled to Rome to further his education with Marco Benefial, studying especially ancient sculpture and the painting of Raphael and the classicists of the seventeenth century. In 1744 he returned to Dresden and was appointed court painter, where he devoted himself mainly to portraits. In 1746 he was appointed painter to King Augustus III of Poland, and subsequently undertook a journey through Italy, ending in Rome, where he settled permanently. In the Italian capital he painted important religious and mythological works in fresco, showing a mature style of a clearly neoclassical character, influenced by the Renaissance and, more specifically, by the work of Raphael. In 1761 he was called to Spain, where he remained until 1769 as the first painter of King Carlos III. For him he painted works destined to decorate the Royal and Aranjuez palaces, and also painted important portraits. His presence in Madrid definitely pushed Tiepolo into a corner, since Mengs represented a new taste that was well accepted by the court. Although he would later return to Rome, he would visit the Spanish court again between 1774 and 1776, shortly before contracting the illness that would lead him to die in Italy in 1779. Works by Mengs are currently preserved in the Prado Museum, the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan in New York, the National Gallery and the Royal Collection in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albertina in Vienna and other leading art galleries in Europe and the United States.
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