Ramón Escudero y Lozano
Artist
Robert Henri
(American, 1865-1929)
CultureAmerican
Date1906
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions78 × 37 3/4 in. (198.1 × 95.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 84 3/4 × 44 3/4 × 3 3/8 in. (215.3 × 113.7 × 8.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 84 3/4 × 44 3/4 × 3 3/8 in. (215.3 × 113.7 × 8.6 cm)
InscribedSigned lower left: Robert Henri;
Inscribed in pencil on back of frame: Ramon Escudero y ... [illegible]
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.501
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a tall oil on canvas painting of a young man with a bandurria, which looks like a small guitar. He stands relaxed in his gray trousers, a black vest and jacket, and a wide-brimmed hat. There is a glimpse of a white shirt and around his neck is a red bandana. His fingers are lightly placed across the strings of the instrument; his dark eyes seem to look at the viewer. His skin is a dark tan and his hair is darker. Another painting of a musician in a similar posture would be Manet's _Fifer_.Label TextRobert Henri American, 1865–1929 Gypsy with Guitar (Gitano), 1906 Oil on canvas Intrigued by their colorful attire and customs, Robert Henri created several pictures of this gypsy and his family while traveling in Spain. Henri’s simplified style, with bold contrasts and thick brushstrokes, stands in sharp opposition to contemporary Impressionist paintings like Susan Watkins’ Marguerite (to the right), created roughly the same year. To Henri and his followers, Spanish subjects and a dark palette signified admiration for the realistic detail of Spanish Old Master paintings and a break from standard Parisian ideals of beauty. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.501 ProvenanceThe artist; estate of the artist, 1929 - 1959; Hirschl and Alder Galleries, New York, 1959; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., 1971. Exhibition History"Henri Memorial Exhibition," Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., March 9 - April 19, 1931, no. 32. "Robert Henri (1865-1929): Fifty Paintings," Hirschl and Adler, New York, N. Y., February 3 - 28, 1958. "Provincetown in Past & Present," Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Mass., 1958. Hirschl and Adler, New York, N.Y., 1959. "The World of Art in 1910," Issac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, La., November 15 - December 31, 1960. "The Controversial Century, 1850-1950, Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Mass., June 16 - September 3, 1962; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, September 28 - November 4, 1962. (Exh. cat. not paged). "Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. "Treasures From The Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville, Tenn., June 12 - September 5, 1977. (Exh. cat. no. 46) "Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk," for the benefit of The Chrysler Museum Art Reference Library, Wildenstein & Co., New York, N. Y., April 13 - May 13, 1978. (Exh. cat. no. 35) "Americans in Spain: Painting and Travel 1820-1920," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, February 12 - May 16, 2021; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, June 11 - October 3, 2021. Published References_Catalog of Henri's Works_ (Madrid, 1906), no. 59E. Charles F. Comfort and William S.A. Dale, _The Controversial Century: 1850-1950_, exh. cat., Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Mass., 1962, not paged. William Inness Homer, _Robert Henri and His Circle_ (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1969), 123. Dennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 176. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya, _Treasures from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr._, exh. cat., Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville, Tenn., 1977, no. 46. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya, _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_, exh. cat., Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1978, 35, 72, no. 35. Valerie Ann Leeds, _My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri_, exh. cat., Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Fla., 1994, 24-25, fig. 5. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 146-147, no. 90. Valerie Ann Leeds, _Robert Henri: The Painted Spirit_, exh. cat. (Gerald Peters Gallery, New York, NY, 2005) 17, fig. 3. Valerie Ann Leeds, Courtney A. McNeil, et. al. _Spanish Sojourns: Robert Henri and the Spirit of Spain,_ exh. cat. (Savannah, GA: Telfair Books, 2013) 23, fig. 12. Brandon Ruud and Corey Piper, _Americans in Spain: Painting and Travel 1820-1920_, exh. cat. (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2020). Leo G. Mazow, _Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art_, exh. cat., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in association with Pennsylvania State University Press, 2023, 37, fig. 2.6.
