National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: The Marquesa de Pontejos
  • Overview
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

Trees, grass, and shrubbery, simplified almost to abstraction, set off the fragile, wasp–waisted figure of María Ana de Pontejos y Sandoval, the Marquesa de Pontejos. Splendidly attired, she typifies those ladies of the Spanish aristocracy who affected the "shepherdess" style of Marie Antoinette, so popular in pre–revolutionary France.

The 18th century's sentimental fondness for nature, influenced by the writings of Jean–Jacques Rousseau, is alluded to in the parklike setting, the roses arranged around the bodice of the gown and tucked into the folds of the voluminous overskirt, and in the carnation that the marquesa holds with self–conscious elegance. Framing her artfully arranged coiffure, the broad–brimmed picture hat again bespeaks high fashion, perhaps imported from England; such hats were often seen in contemporary portraits by Gainsborough and other British painters. While the painting's pale tones reflect the last stages of the rococo in Spanish art, the overall silvery gray–green tonality is equally reminiscent of the earlier Spanish master, Velázquez, whose paintings Goya had studied and copied.

Goya probably painted this portrait on the occasion of the marquesa's first marriage, to Francisco de Monino y Redondo, brother of the all–powerful Count of Floridablanca, another of Goya's noble patrons.

Inscription

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Marks and Labels

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Provenance

The sitter [1762-1834], Casa Pontejos and Palacio Miraflores, Madrid; her third husband, Joaquín Pérez Vizcaíno y Moles [1790-1840], Palacio Miraflores, Madrid;[1] his son-in-law, Don Manuel de Pando y Fernández, Marqués de Miraflores, Palacio Miraflores, by 1867;[2] Don Manuel's granddaughter, Genoveva de Sanmiego y Pando, Marquesa Viuda [widow] de Martorell and Marquesa de Miraflores y de Pontejos, Palacio Miraflores, by 1900;[3] her son, Don Manuel Alvarez de Toledo, Marqués de Miraflores y de Pontejos, Palacio Miraflores, by 1900;[4] sold July 1931 through Mrs. Walter H. [Anna] Schoellkopf, Madrid, and (M. Knoedler & Co., New York and Paris) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded December 1934 to The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.

[1] Walter Cook, "Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art II: Portraits by Goya," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 28 (1945): 152 n 2. On Vizcaíno's life and career and on his inheritance of his wife's estate, see Eduardo C. Puga, "El Marqués de Pontejos," La ilustración española y americana 39 (8 May 1895): 286-287.

[2] Charles Yriate, Goya: sa biographie et le catalogue de l'oeuvre, Paris, 1867: 139. Basic biographical information about the members of the house of Pontejos is given by Alberto and Arturo García Carrafa, Diccionario heráldico y genealógico de apellidos españoles y americanos, vol. 71, Madrid, 1956: 137-140; and by Juan Moreno de Guerra y Alonso, Guía de la grandeza Madrid, 1917: 228-229.

[3] Obras de Goya, exh. cat., Ministerio de Instruccion Pública y Bellas Artes, Madrid, 1910: 32, no. 92. The painting was also recorded in her possession by S. L. Benusan, "A Note upon the Paintings of Francisco José Goya," The Studio 24 (1901): 156; Albert F. Calvert, Goya: an Account of his Life and Works, London, 1908: 193, no. 215; Paul Lafond, Goya, Paris, 1910: 6; Hugh Stokes, Francisco Goya, London, 1914: 338, no. 251; Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, Goya, pintor de retratos, Madrid, 1915: 39; Valerian von Loga, Francisco de Goya, Munich, 1923: 200, no. 307; Colección de cuatrocientos y nueve reproducciones de cuadros, dibujos, y aquafuertes de Don Francisco de Goya precididas de un epistolario del gran pintor y noticias biograficas por Don Francisco Zapatar (1860), Madrid, 1924: no. 58.

[4] Pinturas de... Goya, exh. cat., 1928: 23, no. 18.6. Lively accounts of the negotiations involved in this sale are given by David Edward Finley, A Standard of Excellence, Washington, 1973: 21-22; and John Walker, Self-Portrait with Donors , Boston, 1974: 125.

Exhibition History

1900
Obras de Goya, Ministerio de Instruccíon Pública y Bellas Artes, Madrid, 1900, no. 92.
1918
Exposición de Retratos de Mujeres Españolas por Artistas españoles anteriores a 1850, Sociedad Española de Amigos del Arte, Madrid, 1918, no. 33, repro.
1928
Pinturas de Goya, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 1928, no. 18.
1941
Spanish Painting, Toledo [Ohio] Museum of Art, 1941, no. 84.
1979
L'Art européen à la cour d'Espagne au XVIIIe siecle, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux; Grand Palais, Paris; Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1979-1980, 67-68, no. 18.
1982
On loan to the National Gallery, London, 1982-1983.
1986
Goya: The Condesa de Chinchon and Other Paintings, Drawings and Prints from Spanish and American Private Collections and the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1986-87, unpaginated brochure.
1986
On loan to the State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1986.
1988
Goya and the Spirit of the Enlightenment, Prado, Madrid; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988-1989, no. 9.
1996
Goya 1746-1828, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1996, no. 67, repro.
2001
Goya: La imagen de la mujer [Goya: Images of Women], Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2001-2002, no. 60 (Spanish cat.), no. 26 (English cat.), color repro.
2006
Goya e la tradizione italiana, Fondazione Magnani-Rocca, Parma, 2006, no. 29, repro.

Bibliography

1860
Colección de cuatrocientos y nueve reproducciones de cuadros, dibujos, y aquafuertes de Don Francisco de Goya precididas de un epistolario del gran pintor y noticias biográficas por Don Francisco Zapatar. Madrid, 1860: no.5.
1867
Yriarte, Charles. Goya, sa biographie et le catalogue de l'oeuvre. Paris, 1867: 139.
1887
Viñaza, Conde de la (Cipriano Muñoz y Manzano). Goya: su tiempo, su vida, sus obras. Madrid, 1887: 271, no. 158.
1901
Benusan, Samuel Levy. "A Note upon the Paintings of Francisco José Goya." The Studio 24 (1901): 156, repro. 158.
1902
Benusan, Samuel Levy. "Goya: His Times and Portraits." The Connoisseur 4 (1902): 123.
1907
Oertel, Richard. Francisco de Goya. Leipzig, 1907: 86, fig. 61.
1908
Calvert, Albert F. Goya: An Account of His Life and Works. London, 1908: 139, no. 215, pl. 88.
1910
Lafond, Paul. Goya. Paris, 1910: 6, pl. 43.
1914
Stokes, Hugh. Francisco Goya. London, 1914: 168, 338, no. 251.
1916
Beruete y Moret, Aureliano de. Goya, pintor de retratos. Madrid, 1915: 39, 173, no. 94, pl. 9 (Also English ed. Translated by Selwyn Brinton. London, 1922: 47-48, 207, no. 101, pl. 9).
1921
Loga, Valerian von. Francisco de Goya. Munich, 1921: 58-59, 70, 199, no. 388, fig. 64.
1928
Constable, William George. "The Goya Exhibition at Madrid." The Burlington Magazine 52 (1928): 307.
1928
Desparmet Fitz-Gerald, Xavier. L'oeuvre peint de Goya. 4 vols. Paris, 1928-50: 2:49, no. 330; vol. 1 of plates: pl. 257.
1930
Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier. Goya. Paris, 1930: 37, 70, 96-97, pl. 15.
1937
Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 43.
1937
Frankfurt, Alfred. "The Mellon Gift to the Nation." Art News 35 (9 January, 1937): 13.
1941
Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 88-89, pl. VII.
1941
Ritchie, Andrew Carnduff. "The Eighteenth Century in the National Gallery: Italian, English, French, and Spanish Masters." Art News 40 (June, 1941): 39, repro. 20.
1942
Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 241, repro. 211.
1944
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 128, color repro.
1945
Cook 1945, 151-153, fig 2.
1949
Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 50, repro.
1951
Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier. Vida y obras de Goya. Madrid, 1951: 35-36, 38, 153-154, pl. 17. Translated by Paul Burns, Madrid, 1964.
1955
Gassier, Pierre. Goya. Paris, 1955: 32, 96.
1956
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1956: 34, color repro.
1957
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 90
1958
Gaya Nuño, Juan Anotonio. La pintura española fuera de España; historia y catàlogo. Madrid, 1958: 159, no. 897, pl. 253.
1960
Evans, Grose. Spanish Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1960 (Booklet Number Ten in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 36, color repro.
1960
The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 20, color repro. 15.
1961
Havemeyer, Louisine B. Sixteen to Sixty: Memoirs of a Collector. New York, 1961: 167.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 232, repro.
1964
Trapier, Elizabeth de Gué. Goya and His Sitters. New York, 1964: 4, 52, no. 5, figs. 5-6.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 60
1966
Cairns, Huntington and John Walker, ed. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:342-343, color repro.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture: Illustrations (Companion to the Summary Catalogue, 1965). Washington, 1968: 52, no. 85, repro.
1970
Gassier, Pierre, and Juliet Wilson. Vie et oeuvre de Francisco Goya. Paris, 1970. Translated by C. Hauch and J. Wilson. New York, 1971: 30, 61-62, 78, no. 221, color repro. 62, repro. 94 (1981 ed.: same pp. as above).
1971
Gudiol y Ricart, José. Goya: 1746-1828; Biography, Analytical Study and Catalogue of His Paintings. Translated by Kenneth Lyons. 4 vols. New York, 1971: 1: 76-77, 258, no. 266; 2: fig. 382, color fig. 383.
1973
Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery in Washington. Washington, 1973: 21-22, repro. 20.
1974
de Angelis, Rita. L'opera pittorica completa di Goya. Milan, 1974: 101, no. 185, color pl. 10.
1974
Walker, John. Self-Portrait with Donors. Boston, 1974: 125, repro. 126.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 158, repro.
1979
Baticle, Jeannine. "L'Art européen à la cour d'Espagne au XVIIIe siècle." RLouvre 29 (1979): 320, fig. 3.
1979
Conisbee, Philip. "Art from Spain at the Grand Palais." The Burlington Magazine 121 (1979): 821.
1979
Descargues, Pierre. Goya. London, 1979: 77.
1979
Licht, Fred. Goya: The Origins of the Modern Temper in Art. New York, 1979: 144, 224-225, fig. 105.
1979
Salas, Xavier de. Goya. Translated by G. T. Culverwell. London, 1979: 177, no. 156, color repro. 36.
1979
Watson, Ross. National Gallery of Art. London, 1979: 96, pl. 85, color repro.
1980
López-Rey, José. "Chronique des arts: Espagne." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 115 (1980): 14.
1981
Glendinning, Nigel. "Goya's Patrons." Apollo 114 (1981): 241.
1983
Gállego, Julían. "Los retratos de Goya." Goya en las colecciones madrileñas. Exh. cat. Prado, Madrid, 1983: 55, fig. 24.
1984
Camón Aznar, José. Francisco de Goya. 4 vols. Saragossa, 1984: 2:47-50, color repro. 29.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 398, no. 566, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 182, repro.
1990
Brown, Jonathan, and Richard G. Mann. Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1990: 5-9, color repro. 6.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 69, 89, color repro.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 90, repro.
2001
Goya: Images of Women. Exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001-2002: no. 26.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 264-265, no. 215, color repro.
2006
Brettell, Richard R., and Stephen F. Eisenman. Nineteenth-Century Art in the Norton Simon Museum. New Haven and London, 2006: 52.

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