Aline Masson posed for Raimundo Madrazo on numerous occasions, and in all of them the artist explores in the sensual capture of beauty, the carefree and youthful vitality.
She would be his favorite model, ever since he discovered her by chance while living in Paris. She was the daughter of the concierge of the palace of the Marquis of Casa Riera, which was a meeting place for Spanish artists living in the French capital. Madrazo lived a few streets away from the palace, and for two decades he would not stop portraying Aline in countless poses and attitudes, in domestic spaces and gardens, grooming herself, reading or simply smiling with a mischievous expression. Madrazo would turn her into the most desired and emblematic feminine face of Parisian elegance, as well as a feminine reference for contemporary artists.
It is worth comparing this painting that Setdart is now putting up for auction with the portrait of Aline in the Prado Museum, which Madrazo painted at the same time, around 1876. In both cases, the half-length portrait is characterized by the contrast between the sketchy costume and the precise drawing of the face, so that the smoothness of the skin, the honey-colored eyes, the little teeth peeking out between the outlined lips…, are perfectly described. Although also the costumes, with impressionist touches, masterfully transmit the different tactile sensations, forming a painting of exceptional verism. The refinement of Madrazo’s portraits of Aline, embodying a carefree joie de vivre, had an unconditional market among the Parisian haute bourgeoisie of the late 19th century.
The proximity between the painter and the model gives the painting a natural and close character, which marks the difference with respect to the bourgeois commissioned portrait where the artist often felt somewhat constrained by having to focus on highlighting the social position, in addition to having to respond to the gallant manners demanded by the clients at that time. In the case of Aline’s portrait, Madrazo’s freedom is evident, to the point that we can speak more of an intimate divertimento than of an impersonal work with exclusively commercial purposes.
