Madrid school; circa 1780.Portrait of a lady laureate.Oil on canvas.The painting has some leaps

Madrid school; circa 1780.
"Portrait of a lady laureate".
Oil on canvas.
The painting has some leaps and tears in the canvas.
It has a golden frame from the 20th century.
Measurements: 74 x 59 cm; 89 x 74 cm (frame).
On a black background in complete darkness the figure of a young woman is cut out. She is presented to the spectator in a very close-up and standing, although her figure can only be seen up to her waist. Her white dress stands out against the background and her pearly skin adds light to the scene, softening the portrait of the young woman. With a penetrating gaze that fixes on the viewer, together with the richness of her dress and earrings, the sitter indicates her high social standing and wealthy status. A notable feature of the portrait is the bouquet of flowers hanging from her neckline and the wreath of laurel and flowers adorning her hair, which is largely due to an allegorical interest that may represent abundance or even fertility. It should be noted that during the 18th century portraits of ladies bearing allegorical attributes or even elements from classical antiquity became popular, in many cases portraying themselves as Greek or Roman goddesses.
The establishment of the court in the city of Madrid led to a great development of portraiture, not only at a technical level influenced by the fashions and styles of each period, but also in relation to the painters' mastery of this genre and the impetus offered by the city's large clientele, who requested this type of work with the intention of immortalising their likeness as a sign of power and social relevance. Portraiture during this period was varied and wide-ranging, with numerous influences and largely determined by the tastes of both the clientele and the painter himself. However, this century saw the emergence of a new concept of portraiture that would evolve throughout the century and unify all the national schools: the desire to capture the personality and character of the human being, beyond his external reality and social rank, in effigy. During this century, portraiture had become consolidated among the upper classes and was no longer reserved solely for the court. For this reason, as the 18th and even more so in the 19th century, the formulas of the genre became more relaxed and moved away from the ostentatious and symbolic official representations typical of the Baroque apparatus.