"Demencia de doña Isabel de Portugal" by Spanish painter Pelegrín Clavé around 1855, represents one of the most powerful moments of the historical paintings from the 19th century. The scene depicts the Queen Isabel from Portugal sitting on a throne located at the center of the painting, unable to move and lost in thought, with a blank stare that transmits the complicated state which her mental health was during her last years of her life. Surrounding her, the artist created an emotional composition using different figures, who were important in the Queen's life, to her left the infant Alfonso can be found, seeking for a motherly touch and to her right a young Isabel, future queen of Castilla, is represented kneeling with a soft and loving gaze towards her mother. In the background, other figures which were commonly found in the castle can be identified: ladies in waiting , doctors and servants, who are paying close attention to the situation while having troubling expressions of sadness and frustration. The use of light in the painting, along with the great mastery of the artist to represent fabrics and objects, bring the painting to life and are a direct reflection of his extensive academic studies for the arts.
As a Spanish painter with a vast background in the studies of the arts across Europe, Pelegrín Clavé arrived in Mexico in 1846, due to an offer received to become the director of the painting department in the Academia de San Carlos, the first and largest institution for the academic teaching of the arts in the American continent. During his time in Mexico, "Demencia de doña Isabel de Portugal" was painted, and later on became his most significant painting, working as the prime example of his artistic practice, mixing both European and Mexican techniques and styles, and creating his visual identity which has lasted until today.
The canvas serves as a masterclass in the technique chiaroscuro. Clavé uses a focused, directional illumination to slice through the interior which meticulously brings out the complex, luxurious textures of royal fabrics, heavy drapes, and ornate metal props. This pristine surface treatment gives the canvas a vibrant, tangible realism. This painting endures as a masterpiece because it successfully subverts the rhetoric of political power.
