Luis Paret, 'View of El Arenal de Bilbao', 1784

View of El Arenal de Bilbao

Luis Paret

Not on display

About the work

Overview

The small quayside of El Arenal is now in the centre of Bilbao, a city in the Basque region of northern Spain, but it was once used as a promenade and for unloading cargo from ships. The view is today dominated by buildings but Paret’s picturesque scene takes in the elegant walkway along the river Nervión and the panorama of mountains beyond. Wealthy citizens and dock workers alike go about their daily activities. To the right, fashionably dressed ladies enjoy a leisurely walk, while behind them a number of labourers shift goods.

Paret painted this work while in exile, following his banishment from Madrid in 1775. It belongs to a series of views depicting Spain’s northern ports, which were commissioned from Paret by the Prince of Asturias – son of King Charles III and the future Charles IV – in 1786. Six other paintings from the series survive; this one, dated 1784, is the same size as the View of Bermeo, painted on copper the previous year (Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao).

In-depth

The small quayside of El Arenal is now in the centre of Bilbao, a city in the Basque region of northern Spain, but was once used as a promenade and for unloading cargo from ships. The view is today dominated by buildings but Paret’s picturesque scene takes in the elegant walkway along the river Nervión and the panorama of mountains beyond. The steep slopes of Mount Archanda (now known by its Basque name, Artxanda), the trees aligned along the waterfront and the sweeping curve of the river draw our eye towards the small town – Bilbao, as it then was – nestled in the valley. The building that appears at the point the river disappears is the convent of Saint Augustine, since demolished to make way for the present town hall.

Wealthy citizens and dock workers alike go about their daily activities. To the right, fashionably dressed ladies enjoy a leisurely walk accompanied by a young boy and his nursemaid; two small dogs jump playfully nearby. Behind this affluent group a number of labourers shift goods, while in the foreground other workers take a well-earned rest. A woman in a blue skirt stands out among them: she chats flirtatiously, holding up a dainty glass while balancing a piece of luggage on her head.

The artist’s refined painting technique can be appreciated in the careful brushstrokes, delicate colouring and subtle variations in light and shade that contribute to this painting’s luminous, hazy atmosphere. The picture reflects the prevailing influence of the French Rococo across Europe in the late eighteenth century; Paret was considered its leading advocate in Spain.

In 1775, Paret was banished from Madrid for his involvement in a scandal concerning his patron, Don Luis de Borbón, brother of King Charles III of Spain. First going to Puerto Rico, he then settled in Bilbao, and it was during his exile there that he painted a series of views depicting ports in northern Spain for the Prince of Asturias, King Charles III’s son and the future Charles IV. They were possibly commissioned with the aim of bringing Paret’s exile to an end. Six other views from the series are known to survive. These show the ports of Bermeo (Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao), Portugalete (Museo Cerralbo, Madrid), two views of Fuenterrabía (Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen), San Sebastián and Pasajes (both Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid). The earliest work is that of Bermeo, which is painted on copper and is dated 1783. The series was completed in 1786 and once decorated the rooms of the so-called Casita del Príncipe (‘House of the Prince’) in the Escorial in Madrid, but was dispersed during the French invasion in the early nineteenth century.

Paret may have drawn inspiration from Claude-Joseph Vernet’s series of French port scenes commissioned by King Louis XV in 1752, which he may have known through engravings.

Key facts

Details

Full title: View of El Arenal de Bilbao
Artist: Luis Paret
Artist dates: 1746 - 1799
Date made: 1784
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 60.3 × 83.2 cm
Inscription summary: Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1983
Inventory number: NG6489
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 18th-century English Frame

Provenance

The Puertos de Cantabria are recorded by Ceán Bermúdez as being divided between the Royal Palace in Madrid and the Casino del Rey at the Escorial. There were at least six. The series was dispersed in 1808 during the Napoleonic war.

The View of El Arenal de Bilbao, one of the most sensitive and accomplished of the series, shows what now forms the centre of modern Bilbao, on the river Nervión. In the distance, towards the left, is the convent of Saint Agustín, since demolished to make way for the present city hall.

No. 6489 passed through Christie’s on 24 March, 1922 (lot 111). It subsequently entered the collection of the Hon. Bertram Bell near Dublin and was auctioned again at Christie’s on 2 December, 1983 (lot 77). It was purchased for £81,000 by Mr Jack Baer of Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox Ltd, acting on behalf of the National Gallery.

Additional information

This painting is included in a list of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945; for more information see Whereabouts of paintings 1933–1945.

Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery Report: January 1982 – December 1984’.

Exhibition history

2021

Luis Paret in Bilbao

Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa / Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao

8 June 2021 - 24 May 2022
2022

Paret

Museo Nacional del Prado

24 May 2022 - 21 August 2022

Bibliography

1800

J.A. Ceán Bermúdez, Diccionario histórico de los mas ilustres profesores de las bellas artes en España, Madrid 1800
1952

J.A. Gaya Nuño, 'Luis Paret y Alcázar', Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Excursiones, LVI, 1952, pp. 87-153
1957

O. Delgado, Luis Paret y Alcázar: Pintor español, Madrid 1957
1957

J. White et al., Paintings from Irish Collections (exh. cat. Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1957), Dublin 1957
1981

A. Braham, El Greco to Goya: The Taste for Spanish Paintings in Britain and Ireland (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 16 September - 9 November 1981), London 1981
1985

National Gallery, The National Gallery Report: January 1982 - December 1984, London 1985
1986

M. Levey, Director's Choice: Selected Acquisitions 1973-1986: An Exhibition to mark the Retirement of Sir Michael Levey as Director of the National Gallery (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 17 December 1986 - 15 February 1987), London 1986
1986

J. González de Durana and K.M. de Barañano, 'Puertos vascos en la obra pictórica de Luis Paret y Alcázar', in Anuario: Estudios - Crónicas / Urtekaria: Asterlanak - Albistak (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao), Bilbao 1986, pp. 19-46
1988

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Allan Braham, National Gallery Catalogues: The Spanish School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1988
1988

J.J. Luna, 'Luis Paret y Alcázar: Obras inéditas y otras consideraciones sobre su pintura', Archivo español de arte, LXI/244, 1988, pp. 373-83
1989

M. Helston, Painting in Spain during the Late Eighteenth Century (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 15 March - 31 May 1989), London 1989
1991

J.J. Luna (ed.), Luis Paret y Alcázar: 1746-1799, Bilbao 1991
1991

L. Domergue, 'L'Espagne à l'heure française', in J.-L. Auge (ed.), Le néoclassicisme en Espagne: Journées d'études, 20-21 juillet 1989, Thonon-les-Bains 1991
1995

J. Held, 'Die spanische Landschaftsmalerei im 18. Jahrhundert', Städel-Jahrbuch, XV, 1995, pp. 211-30
1996

E. Peters Bowron and J. González de Durana (eds), Luis Paret y Alcázar y los Puertos del País Vasco, Bilbao 1996
1997

J.L. Morales y Marín, Luis Paret: Vida y obra, Zaragoza 1997
1998

J.L. Sancho, 'Notas sobre la pintura de paisaje y marinas en los palacios de Carlos IV', in J.M. Morales Camón (ed.), I Congreso internacional de pintura española del siglo XVIII: Homenaje al ilmo. sr. don José Luis Morales y Marín (Marbella, 15-18 de abril de 1998), Marbella 1998, pp. 369-84
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2009

D. Carr, El Greco to Goya: Spanish Painting, London 2009

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.