Lorenzo del Valle y García Robina

The work of Gil de Castro exemplifies the particular way of addressing the representation of the human body practiced by the painters of the late viceroyalty and early republican periods, who had not been schooled in the prevailing academic techniques of Europe, through which artists immersed themselves in certain methods and treatises, and in an empirical and systematized knowledge of anatomy. At a time of ideological and political change, Gil de Castro, of Afro-Peruvian origin, rose in society thanks to his talent.
Here, we see a portrait of Lorenzo del Valle y García Robina (1804-1854), a wealthy Lima landowner. He is shown in three-quarter profile, against a neutral, greenish background. The artist has managed to capture the inner life of the model, while the body and the suit covering it are rendered conventionally. At the same time, certain details of the clothing stand out, with the buttons, folds and seams addressed in detail by the painter.