Female Portrait

Ludovic Gignoux
France, 1882–1900
Date: 1901
Dimensions: 40 x 55 cm
Materials: Oil on canvas
The various technical analyses carried out have enabled CAEM experts to attribute this work to Ludovic Gignoux, a follower of the painter Joaquín Sorolla. This canvas presents a female figure with features and attributes associated with Gypsy culture, although she could be considered a young majismo figure: chaste, fresh and spirited. Her black eyes, with a deep and seductive gaze, and her gathered jet-black hair at the back, adorned with a headdress of flowers, stand out. She wears a chaste brown shawl with reddish coloration, covering her hand and at the same time concealing a complicit half-smile. On a technical level, the artist plays with the application of layers of different thicknesses and their superimposition to create contrasts and define the forms and details. Although the light is distributed evenly across the canvas, the artist has created small areas of contrast in which light and shadow are accentuated. All these elements create a representation of exotic and enigmatic perception based on stereotypes of Romantic origin surrounding the figure of the majas of the period.