R. Espejo - Junto a la muralla, 1863

“Beside the wall”, 1863. R. Espejo (19th-century Spanish school), oil on canvas. Dimensions.- Framed: 37.5 x 49.0 cm. Unframed: 30.5 x 42.5 cm. Signed and dated by hand at the bottom center (R. Espejo, 1863). In good condition for the age of the work. The canvas has been lined, which shows the importance that the painting's old owners attributed to it, who did not allow the canvas to suffer possible tears over time. Provenance: Madrid private collection. A couple of figures are located under the gate of the remains of a wall topped with two ogival arches and with a shield at the keystone. In front of the path, leading to that gate, walks a peasant woman with a jug on her head and another smaller one in her right hand. On the right side of the composition there is a vegetated area with a tall, slender tree. The left opens to a landscape background in which rural buildings can be seen against a mountainous backdrop. The scene is illuminated by a sun coming from the upper left corner of the painting and that produces shadows giving relief to the different planes of the wall and to the background of the gate, which, in turn, opens to a barely perceptible landscape in light, providing depth to that area. In this way a balanced and varied composition is achieved, which also features that captivating brushwork so characteristic of the period in which the painting was made.