Girls at a Window c. 1875

Raimundo de Madrazo painted “Girls at a Window” with oil on canvas, a traditional medium, yet his approach embodies an emerging modernity. Note how Madrazo’s technique emphasizes spontaneity, with visible brushstrokes and a lively surface texture. This ‘alla prima’ or ‘wet-on-wet’ method, allowed for capturing fleeting moments and impressions directly onto the canvas, resonating with the immediacy of modern life. It stands in contrast to the layered, academic style that was still dominant at the time, which sought to conceal all traces of its making. Furthermore, the subject matter itself points to changing social norms, a shift away from formal portraiture and toward intimate scenes of leisure, reflective of the rising middle class. The clothes worn by the women speak to the rise of the fashion industry. Ultimately, Madrazo's “Girls at a Window” reveals a shift in aesthetics, and a burgeoning celebration of the everyday, capturing a moment of in-betweenness, poised between tradition and modernity.