''La Fuensanta'' is a
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
painting by Spanish artist
Julio Romero de Torres depicting María Teresa López González, one
of Torres'
models. Gonzalez is depicted with her arms resting on a copper cauldron. The painting was made in the autumn of 1929, when Torres completed another two artworks, ''
La Chiquita Piconera'' and ''Bodegas Cruz Conde''. "Fuensanta" is a Spanish girl’s name that means "holy fountain."
Born in Argentina, González moved with her family to Torres' native town of
Córdoba after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
After she first sat for Torres at the age of fourteen, González became one of his favourite models whose likeness is most closely associated to Torres.
According to
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
, the work has been "proclaimed as a quintessential rendition of
Andalucia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
n beauty".
It was depicted for 25 years on the 100
peseta banknote.
Provenance
The provenance of ''La Fuensanta'' has been largely unknown since 1930, when it was exhibited at the Ibero-American Exposition in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
. In 1994, the painting was bought by an Argentine citizen. In November 2007, ''La Fuensanta'' was sold by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
to a private buyer. The
Spanish Ministry of Culture tried to purchase the painting from Sotheby's, but the auction price of €1,173,400
euros was too high.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuensanta, La
1929 paintings
20th-century portraits
Portraits by Spanish artists
Portraits of women
Paintings by Julio Romero de Torres