EDWING LONG (United Kingdom, 1829 - 1891).
"Young Man and his Mistress, 1862.
Oil on canvas.
Work reproduced in Luis Quesada, "Pintores españoles y extranjeros en Andalucía", p. 156, fig. 203 (Seville: Guadalquivir Ediciones, 1996).
Preserves original period frame.
Signed and dated in the lower left area.
Measurements: 59 x 46 cm; 81.5 x 69 cm (frame).
Costumbrista scene in which the author represents a young girl dressed in a mantilla and behind her, an older woman who seems to be responsible for the girl, either her servant or even a procuress. Both are dressed in black clothes, indicating a state of mourning, although through the protagonist's mantilla there is a mischievous smile that tries to win over the viewer. The archetypes depicted through their clothing and even the presence of the fans reveal the artist's interest in the genre in the conception of this work.
A British painter who belonged to the Royal Academy, Edwin Long specialised in genre, historical and biblical themes and portraiture. As a result of his trips to Spain and the Middle East, he cultivated the painting of Spanish types and Orientalist themes, to great critical and public acclaim. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the son of the artist E. Long. Determined to devote himself to painting, he moved to London and studied the masters at the British Museum and attended the school of James Mathews Leigh. He began his career as a portraitist, painting figures such as Charles Greville, Lord Ebury and others. In London he befriended the Royal Academy member Jon Philip, with whom he made a long trip to Spain. There he was influenced by Velázquez and other great Spanish masters, and some of his early paintings, such as The Inn (1864) and Lazarilla and the Blind Beggar (1870), were painted under the influence of the Spanish school. In the early 1870s he produced his first major works, The Supplicants and The Babylonian Wives' Market, which were acquired by Thomas Holloway. In 1874 Long travelled to Egypt and Syria, a fact that would change the course of his work; his painting was profoundly influenced by Middle Eastern archaeology and he painted oriental scenes such as "The Egyptian Feast" and "The Gods and Their Makers. Even before this trip, in 1870, Long had been made an associate of the Royal Academy and in 1881 he was appointed an academician of the Academy. His works always attracted public attention, and his reputation grew rapidly thanks to the circulation of engravings based on his paintings. As a result, Long decided in 1883 to exhibit his works independently in a gallery he owned in Bond Street, and immediately enjoyed great commercial success. However, he never ceased to paint portraits, particularly of Baroness Burdett Coutts, his main patron. He also painted figures of the time such as Henry Irving, Earl of Iddesleigh, Cardinal Manning, Samuel Cousins, Sir Edmund Henderson and others. Edwing Long is currently represented at the Royal Academy, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and Royal Holloway College, London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the Bob Jones Museum, Greenville (USA), the Dahesh Museum, New York, the National Gallery of Victoria (Australia) and the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, among other public and private collections.