La Fuensanta
Julio Romero de Torres, 1929
La Fuensanta is one of the best-known portraits by Julio Romero de Torres, the Córdoba painter associated with Symbolism and with images of Andalusian women. The sitter is María Teresa López González, a model the artist used often. She sits in three-quarter view and looks straight out at the viewer. Her arms rest on a large, brightly lit metal jug, while a spout of water appears at the upper left, suggesting a brief pause in everyday work. Unlike some of Torres's works with rich fabrics and showy details, her clothing here is plain and the background dark and neutral, so attention settles on her face, arms and the vessel. A band of light at the height of her face reinforces her calm, steady gaze. The painting's later history is unusual: its image appeared on the 100-peseta banknote for decades, and its whereabouts were unknown for much of the period before it resurfaced and was auctioned in 2007.
- Painter
- Julio Romero de Torres
- Date
- 1929
- Medium
- tempera, oil paint, canvas
- Movement
- Symbolism
- Genre
- genre art, allegory
- Depicts
- sitting, pitcher, waist-length hair, blouse, part, earring, María Teresa López González, gaze towards the viewer
More works by Julio Romero de Torres
