The Toilette

1772

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 641

This painting engages a complex cultural situation: in 1714, the French-descended Bourbons took control of the Spanish throne, ruling a country proud of its rich artistic heritage under the previous dynasty. Paret has adapted French painter Jean François de Troy’s subjects of contemporary life to Spain. The woman known as a petimetra—an archetype vilified for overly eager consumption of non-Spanish luxury fashions—is depicted with a disfigured, rich, older man. Goya would later develop such social critique. The distinctive gold signature with crown affirms this painting was executed for the king’s younger brother. A political misstep in 1775 led to Paret’s exile to Puerto Rico, where he taught his distinctive enamel-like technique to José Campeche, the country’s first painter in the European tradition.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Catalogue Entry

Provenance

Title: The Toilette
Artist: Luis Paret y Alcázar (Spanish, Madrid 1746–1799 Madrid)
Date: 1772
Medium: Oil on wood
Dimensions: 19 1/2 × 22 1/2 in. (49.5 × 57.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund; Bequest of Lillian S. Timken, by exchange; Marquand Fund; The Alfred N. Punnett Endowment Fund; and funds from various donors, 2025
Object Number: 2025.301
Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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