Cristóbal Rojas (1858-1890)

Acquired from the Estate of the Artist by Antonio Pimentel, Caracas
Thence by descent to the present owner

Caracas, Galería de Arte Nacional, Cristóbal Rojas, Un Siglo Después, September 15-December 15, 1990, no. 71

Rafael Paéz, "Cristóbal Rojas," Pintores Venezolanos, Tomo I, Caracas, 1974, p. 221, illustrated in color

(This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Conservation, Inc.)This painting has been recently restored and should be hung as is. The canvas has been lined and stretched onto a new stretcher. The paint layer has been cleaned, varnished and retouched. There is no real abrasion to the paint layer and the retouches are accurate and quite restrained. The most interesting issue with this picture is that the artist himself, when the picture was already dry, seems to have wanted to change his mind about the shadowed portion of the figure's dress, on and below her left thigh. The way he approached this was to scrape off the paint that he had already applied and then presumably change the color or in some way perhaps alter the pattern of the dress. He also took this approach in the side of the basket holding the flowers, where there is another scrapped area. Much as I would feel more comfortable saying that these are actually areas of paint loss, we have closely examined the work and found that this is not rather but it is scrapped and intended by the artist. The face of the figure is almost entirely un-retouched, as is the remainder of the figure. Elsewhere in the picture there are a few minor retouches on the rug beneath the figure and there are a few spots around the fire in the lower right. For the most part, this is a picture without many significant retouches, even though some of the original paint reads eccentrically under ultraviolet light. Overall the condition is very good.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

After a prodigious career in Venezuela, Cristóbal Rojas moved to Paris in 1883. During his stay there he studied at the Académie Julien with his compatriot Arturo Michelena under Professor Jean Paul Laurens. He frequently participated at the Salon Officiel with monumental paintings which often represented realist tableaux of Parisians' daily life. In the latter part of his life, he engaged into more luminous compositions, like his whimsical Dante and Beatriz (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Collection, Caracas) and La Lectora.  Rafael Páez, one of his biographers wrote in 1974 : "In this last period of his life, Rojas worked on another painting that deserves the title of the most important contribution to Venezuelan Painting in the 19 C : The Reader."