Tastefully developed and carefully curated, The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University now holds one of the largest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. The museum prides itself on displaying widely diversified paintings, a statement I do not fully agree with. Although the two-story museum’s walls are furnished with with a wide variety of subject content there is a chauvinistic sense about their collections. I am not saying there is an unequal ratio of male to female portraits because there isn’t. The museum has a plethora of women as subjects, but they only seem to only display women painted by men. Two paintings that really stood out to me were Portrait of María Luisa Gabriela of Savoy painted by Miguel Jacinto Meléndez and Saint Justa by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Despite the face they completely different women, Justa and Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy’s portraits were both painted to appease the standards of proper feminine women in the eyes of men. As a painter of the Baroque and Rococo era, Miguel Jacinto Melendez’s work had a very distinct artistic style that was typical of the early 18th century. Greatly admired for his attention to detail and delicate portraits, Melendez earned a position at Spanish court as King Philip V’s official painter. Melendez’s painting collection was primarily composed of Spanish Monarchs commissioned by the King. His very first paintings at court were portraits of King Philip V and Queen Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy. Like all commissioned paintings, the artist must follow the requests of the commissioner, in this case the King of Spain. Rather than being a true portrait of Maria Luisa Gabriela, this painting was a reflection of how the King wanted his Queen to look and the artists interpretation. When looking at this photo Maria Luisa Gabriela is the first object the viewers see. Besides being painted it the center of the canvas, Maria Luisa Gabriela is elaborately dressed which makes it difficult to take ones eyes off of her. Melendez captures every fine detail on her incredibly ornate attire. From the ruffly lace on her royal blue gown to the luster of her pearls, one can automatically assume this woman is royalty. When I first viewed this portrait, I saw a weary woman who is only known for being someone important’s wife. She seems to be used as a trophy on a man’s shelf who’s only purpose of existence is to look pretty. Melendez paints her holding a feather fan in one hand and a white handkerchief in the other. While she is depicted holding two simple and dainty objects, her husband is painted holding an important letter and a sword. What Melendez didn’t include in Maria Luisa Gabriela’s portrait was that she was actually a very strong clever woman that would often stand in on government issues when her husband was unavailable. Melendez would have been fired from his job if he ever dared to paint the Queen doing such things because those were not activities real women partook in. Real women, especially royals, were supposed to be elegant and delicate. So instead of being remembered for doing something of importance, Maria Luisa Gabriela is remembered for standing on a balcony wearing a high fashion gown, puffy blonde wig, and an excessive amount of jewelry. Melendez depicts Maria Luisa Gabriela as being a collected young woman but little do the viewers know she actually endured many hardships in her life. Maria Luisa Gabriela grew up between the war time, she endured several pregnancies, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After learning her real life story, I realized the way Melendez captured her wellbeing and emotion is extremely deceiving. The
…show more content…
Most people forget Justa was painted for a legitimate reason. Rather than another ornate painting of a woman standing in a palace, Saint Justa is a woman with religious significance. Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy was painted merely for the King to show off his beautiful queen. Justa earned the right to be painted by showing actions of bravery. Murillo does not make her accomplishments incredibly clear but he somewhat incorporates her strength and bravery by adding symbolic objects in his depiction on her. Unlike Melendez’s portrayal of the queen, Murillo does not fully portray Justa as a woman without
Most people forget Justa was painted for a legitimate reason. Rather than another ornate painting of a woman standing in a palace, Saint Justa is a woman with religious significance. Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy was painted merely for the King to show off his beautiful queen. Justa earned the right to be painted by showing actions of bravery. Murillo does not make her accomplishments incredibly clear but he somewhat incorporates her strength and bravery by adding symbolic objects in his depiction on her. Unlike Melendez’s portrayal of the queen, Murillo does not fully portray Justa as a woman without