VICENTE LÓPEZ PORTAÑA

(1772 / 1850)

VICENTE LOPEZ PORTAÑA Valencia (1772) / Madrid (1850) "Painful", c. 1825-1826

Oil on canvas. Provenance: Bermudez Collection of Castro O'Lawlor, Marquisate of Lema. On the reverse, above the frame, old label and numbering from the O'Lawlor collection (no. 506). Label of the Board of Seizure, Protection and Salvage of the Artistic Treasure (no. 10172 / Lema/ collection no. 4). Registered in the Photo Library of the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain (no. AJP-0445_P - Marques de Lema). Bibliography: DIEZ, Jose Luis, Vicente Lopez (1772-1850). Catalog Raisonne, Madrid, 1999, p. 38, plate 181, cat. P-132. In this dramatic and striking image of the Virgin of Sorrows, Vicente Lopez shows Mary next to the Cross, wearing the traditional blue-gray tunic and blue mantle. With a sorry gesture he contemplates the crown of thorns and the nails of the Passion, which appear arranged on a silver tray, while she wipes away her tears with a white handkerchief. It was made by Vicente Lopez at the request of General O'Lawlor and O' Brennan, with whose family the painter maintained a close relationship. In addition to this work, there is documentary evidence that he made other works for the same client, among which was his own portrait; collected, like this Dolorosa, in the catalog of Lopez's works made by Jose Luis Diez (See Diez 1999, P-132 and P-662). As Jose Luis Diez indicated in his catalogue, this painting must have enjoyed considerable success due to the numerous versions known of it, this being the highest quality of all. The different replicas taken from this image were also included in the painter's catalog raisonne with numbers (P-133, P-134, PS-3), its author indicating the existence of a copy of this Dolorosa that appeared three decades ago in the trade (Ansorena, October 1993 Auction, lot 221). Measurements: 103 x 80 cm.