A Street Scene in Seville

Thomas Eakins American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 763

Eakins, the acclaimed Philadelphia realist, produced this ambitious multifigure work while still a student. Traveling in Spain, he set up an easel on the roof of his Seville hotel to paint what he described as "the most difficult kind of a picture"—a subject in full sunlight. Eakins hired a family of street musicians, the Requeñas, to pose for him; the daughter, Carmelita, also inspired a spirited oil sketch (1979.135.2). The artist worked on the larger painting for more than three months, challenging himself to adapt his rigorous academic practice to the outdoors.

A Street Scene in Seville, Thomas Eakins (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1844–1916 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Oil on canvas, American

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A Street Scene in Seville, Thomas Eakins (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1844–1916 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Oil on canvas, American
A Street Scene in Seville, Thomas Eakins (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1844–1916 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Oil on canvas, American

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