MARIANO FORTUNY MARSAL (Reus, Tarragona, 1838 - Rome, 1874)."Moroccan Elder", ca.1855.Watercolour on

MARIANO FORTUNY MARSAL (Reus, Tarragona, 1838 - Rome, 1874).
"Moroccan Elder", ca.1855.
Watercolour on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Bibliography: exhibition catalogue "Fortuny", Barcelona, 1940, cat.507. /González, Carlos González López and Montserrat Marí Ayxelá, "Mariano Fortuny Marsal", ediciones Catalanas, Barcelona, 1989. Volume II, p.34.Provenance: Ramon Pons i Bas Collection, Jaime Pons Collection, Private Collection.
Measurements: 22 x 16 cm; 30 x 25 cm (frame).
This watercolour has been identified with the one in the catalogue (no. 507) of the Fortuny exhibition held in Barcelona in 1940. According to the description in the catalogue, as well as the medieval subject and the treatment still indebted to the Nazarene style, this watercolour can be dated to around 1855, when Fortuny was working in Claudio Lorenzale's workshop. It depicts an old Moroccan man in oriental attire (breeches, sash around his waist, turban and long hooded cloak revealing a container for gunpowder). The figure ties his white beard, restless and pensive, as he gazes out over the crenellated castle towards the horizon. Doctors González López and Marí Ayxelá argue that it could be an episode from the Cantar del Mío Cid (the capture of Valencia in 1094), comparing the watercolour with sketches of medieval themes that he had made in Lorenzale's workshop, whose subjects were set in the time of Ramón Berenguer III and his triumph over the Almoravids in Lérida and Tortosa. Stylistically, we can see the influence of the German idealist style which, under the influence of Lorenzale, prevailed at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. This is denoted in this watercolour by the linear purism, the chromatic delimitation and the drawing precision. Fortuny's skilful touch can be seen, however, in the way he captures volume and light with small brushstrokes. In conclusion, this is a notable work by Fortuny from his apprenticeship period.
Fortuny began his training at the municipal art school in Reus and moved to Barcelona with his grandfather in 1850. There he continued his studies as a disciple of Domingo Talarn and entered the School of Fine Arts, where his teachers were Pablo Milá, Claudio Lorenzale and Luis Rigalt. At the same time he attended Lorenzale's public school, which determined his inclination towards Romantic painting at this early stage. In 1858 he settled in Rome thanks to a scholarship, and attended the Accademia Chigi. While there, the Diputació de Barcelona invited him to travel to Morocco to paint the warlike encounters that were taking place in the area, which was to be a turning point in his career. The light of Morocco and the exoticism of the place and its people led him to take an interest in aspects totally unknown in his previous production. In 1860 he visited Madrid, where he visited the Prado Museum and became interested in the work of Velázquez and Goya. Shortly afterwards he began a trip around Europe and finally returned to Rome for good. He attended classes at the French Academy of Fine Arts at the Villa Medici, and in 1861 he visited Florence and came into contact with the "macchiaioli". From then on he returned to Morocco and Paris, as well as travelling to Toledo, where he discovered the work of El Greco. In 1867 he exhibited in the studio of Federico de Madrazo, who became his father-in-law that same year. The following year he returned to Rome, and in 1870 his international fame was consolidated thanks to his exhibition at the Paris gallery of Goupil. During these years he moved to Granada, to the Fonda de los Siete Suelos in the Alhambra, with the idea of tackling new themes with the greater freedom that commercial and critical success gave him. However, in 1872 he was forced to return to Rome, where he remained until his death.