Cavalier c. 1871

Mariano Fortuny Marsal created this painting of a Cavalier, using oil on panel, sometime before 1874. The figure’s elaborate costume and confident stance evokes the imagery of Spain’s Golden Age. However, it was produced at a time of considerable upheaval, both in Europe and in Fortuny’s native Catalonia. Fortuny travelled widely, including in Morocco. He gained a reputation as an orientalist painter who reproduced stereotypical depictions of the Arab world in his work. “Cavalier” demonstrates his interest in costume and theatricality, but it also shows his engagement with an image of Spanish history that was being actively promoted by the Spanish state at the time. Art historians use state archives, newspaper reports, and exhibition catalogues to understand the social and institutional contexts in which artworks like this were produced. These sources reveal the public role of art in shaping national identity. Ultimately, the meaning we find in art is contingent on its social and institutional context.