The First Step

The work belongs to the mature period in the production of the painter from Jerez, trained in Cádiz and Rome. It is a sample of the type of painting done by the artist: a perfectionist and traditional portrayal of anecdotes, sometimes in the “casacón” genre, inserted into Fortuny’s most hackneyed style. He adhered strongly to this trend through his intense relationship with José Jiménez Aranda in Rome. As a good craftsman in painting, both in oils and watercolours (which was characteristic of Fortuny’s school), the Álvarez Algeciras of that time still proved skilful in creating complex compositions that were usually overburdened with decorative elements, although the execution of his works, especially of the figures, was less rich in glazes and nuances than during his early period. Moreover, it did not have the density and relief of which his friend Jiménez Aranda was a master. His pictures were closest to those of Jiménez during the sixties, when the painter from Jerez was still struggling for his place on the painting scene of the period.