The Portrait of Enrique Larreta by Ignacio Zuloaga: Genesis and Character of an Iconic Painting

Abstract

The relationship between Enrique Larreta and Ignacio Zuloaga was key to the decisions made by the writer when forming his art collection; the painter not only made a portrait of him, but also assumed the role of intermediary in the purchase of artistic objects. The bond between the two had begun in the Parisian capital shortly before Larreta served as Minister Plenipotentiary in France between 1910 and 1916. The success of the novel La gloria de Don Ramiro earned the Argentine  writer the admiration of many of the intellectuals and personalities from the cultural world in the Paris of those years. This is one of the reasons why Zuloaga painted the portrait of the writer and started a friendship that lasted until the end of his days. Made in 1912, the date of the painting coincides with one of the painter’s most successful moments and with a taste for the so-called “españolada” in the artistic and cultural sphere of the Gallic country. Our work deals with the analysis of this painting and the particular circumstances surrounding its realization and the changes the work had before its arrival in Buenos Aires.