Roma Caves, Granada

Mariano Fortuny Marsal (1838-1874) was a Spanish painter known for his brilliantly colored, virtuosically painted subjects of Moorish Spain and Oriental life that make him one of the most technically accomplished painters of the 19th century. Roma Caves, Granada from c. 1871 depicts the caves of Granada in the brilliantly colored, sketch-like manner that distinguishes Fortuny's best work. The c. 1871 date places this in Fortuny's Granada period, when he was producing the brilliantly colored paintings of Spanish life that are his most accomplished works, and the caves subject allowed him to exercise his talent for depicting light in exotic settings.

Roma Caves, Granada is important in Fortuny's oeuvre because it demonstrates the brilliantly colored, sketch-like manner that he developed during his Granada period. The caves of Granada provided Fortuny with an exotic setting in which to exercise his talent for depicting light and color, creating a type of painting that is simultaneously Spanish in subject and Orientalist in manner—a combination that made Fortuny one of the most influential painters of the 19th century.

Roma Caves, Granada is Fortuny's Granada period at its most brilliantly colored: the caves rendered in the sketch-like, brilliantly colored manner that he developed during his Spanish period. The c. 1871 painting demonstrates the technical virtuosity and color that made Fortuny one of the most influential painters of the 19th century.