Portrait of José de Ibarra

This work was long considered a self-portrait, first of Miguel Cabrera and then of José de Ibarra. Recently the matter of its authorship was cleared up based on a document in the files of the old San Carlos Academy which mentions a "portrait of Don José Ibarra done by Contreras", presented as a gift to the authorities in 1790 by the painter Rafael Joaquín Gutiérrez in order to attain the rank of senior academic in the field of painting. Both Ibarra and Contreras are linked to the plan to found a painting academy in 1753; the former was to serve as director of the said institution, while the latter formed part of the group promoting the initiative. All those involved were pursuing acknowledgement of their trade, both in New Spain and in the home country, which is why they sought royal support with a view to equaling the privileges afforded to painters by the recently established Academy of San Fernando of Madrid. The attempt to found an academy in New Spain was one of the developments to which the reforms set in motion by Charles III gave rise. However, it was not until almost thirty years later that these efforts bore fruit, in the form of the San Carlos Academy, giving rise to the replacement of the trades by the liberal arts, due to industrial progress and commercial competitiveness. We are familiar with the faces of very few of the artists from the Viceregal period, since only the most prestigious members of society had their portraits painted at that time. The sincerity of the facial expression, which is sunk in dense chiaroscuro, the sideways look, and the simplicity of the references to the subjects profession attest to the still timid attempt to depict a trade that sought to be acknowledged for the freedom, intelligence and rationality that were implicit in its exercise. This work entered the MUNAL in the year 2000.