Alonso Miguel de Tovar

Seville, Museo de Bellas Artes, Miguel Alonso de Tovar, 2006, pp. 75-77, cat. no. 13.

E. Valdivieso, Pintura barocca sevillana, Seville 2003, p. 503;
F. Quiles, Alonso Miguel de Tovar, Seville 2005, p. 33.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is lined and the paint is stable but raised. Areas of the background have been augmented, particularly in the darker passages, the bottom of the dress has been strengthened and some of the more vulnerable glazes have been compromised. However, many areas of the painting are well preserved and in good condition, particularly the sitter. The varnish is slightly discoloured and removal of the varnish would improve the tonality."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The present work is a pendant to the portrait of the sitter's husband, Don Juan Manuel López Pacheco (1648-1725), 8th Duke of Escalona and 8th Marquis of Villena, found in a Private Collection, Cordoba, Spain (see fig. 1). Don Juan Manuel López Pacheco was an important member of the Court of Philipp V and, after founding the Real Academia Española in 1713, served as its first director.

This closely-observed portrait from 1725 is most probably a posthumous portrayal of the sitter. The inscription tells us that Doña Josefa died in 1692 so it is thus unlikely that Tovar would have executed such a fine work at the young age of 14. Like many of his portraits, the work stands out in its attention to detail and fine reproduction of the sitter's embroidered clothing.

Alonso Miguel de Tovar began his career as an artist painting religious subjects and was trained in this manner by Juan Antonio Ossorio in Seville. Stylistically, his religious works are heavily indebted to Murillo, and this can be seen in the Our Lady of Consolation with Saints Francis, James and a Clerical Donor of 1720 in Seville Cathedral. He was appointed court painter in 1729 when the Spanish court moved to Seville and it seems that, having later returned to Madrid with the court, he worked closely with Louis-Michel van Loo who was to have a profound effect on his portrait style.