The Quay, Olaveaga, Bilbao
Luis Paret y Alcazar (Madrid 1747 – Madrid 1799)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1786
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
673 x 940 mm (26 1/2 x 37 in)
Place of origin
Spain
Order this imageCollection
Upton House, Warwickshire
NT 446828
Caption
This was painted during the period when Paret was exiled in Northern Spain, between 1779 and 1789. He had been associated with the disgrace of his chief patron, the Cardinal Infante Don Luis de Borbòn, and was convicted of procuring women for the prince’s pleasure. Only after the death of King Carlos III was he able to return to Madrid. Paret painted Cantabrian harbour views, which earned him the title of the ‘Spanish Vernet’, and designed fountains at Bilbao and Pamplona. Olaveaga is a district of Bilbao lying to the north of the town on the way to Portugalete.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Quay, Olaveaga, Bilbao by Luis Paret y Alcazar (1747-1799), circa 1786. A number of people are gathered on the quay which is backed by houses and has a tree in the right foreground; on the left, hills slope to the water's edge where various sailing vessels are moored; by the quay are two rowing boats.
Provenance
According to José M. de Areilza, Count of Motrico (quoted in letter from J.R. Rey of the Banco de Bilbao to Lord Bearsted of 10 Nov. 1945), this picture and an unspecified pendant may have belonged to the Count of Villa; anonymous sale, Christie's, 24 March 1922, lot 111: bought by Sabin on behalf of Lord Bearsted for £304.10.0 + 5% commission = £319.4.6; this history of the picture has been confused by association in the literature quoted with one of a pair of paintings of different motifs, noted as being in the Lopez de Calle collection, Bilbao, in 1927; given with Upton House to the National Trust by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted (1882 – 1948), in 1948, shortly before his death
Credit line
Upton House, The Bearsted Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Luis Paret y Alcazar (Madrid 1747 – Madrid 1799), artist