Amazon, originally an online bookstore, has grown into a massive marketplace offering a wide array of products. You can discover almost anything, from everyday items to rare collectables, meeting the diverse needs of consumers. However, within this extensive product range, there exists a world of luxury that only a privileged few can indulge in.
This article discusses the most expensive thing on Amazon and the product’s history to provide you with a more comprehensive understanding.
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Art Master Collection Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) — Retrato de Rafael Esteve
The cost of this 1815 oil portrait is set at $4 million, which seems appropriate considering it was created by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, a renowned romantic painter and printmaker. The Met considers him the most significant Spanish artist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
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History of the portrait
From the artist’s later period in 1815, a specific collection in Saragossa houses the Portrait of the Engraver Rafael Esteve, an oil painting on canvas measuring 1 x 0.74 m. This artwork is a replica of the one preserved in the Museo de San Pio V de Valencia and was bequeathed to the Real Academia de San Carlos de Valencia by Antonio Esteve, the portrayed’s nephew. Rafael Esteve Vilella (Valencia 1772-1847), part of an extensive family of artists, was the son of sculptor Jose Esteve y Bonet (1741-1802). He received education at the Reales Academias de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia and de San Fernando de Madrid, becoming the Engraver of the Chamber in 1802.
In 1817, he resided in Paris and Rome to broaden his knowledge, a journey repeated in 1837. A gold medalist at the Salon of Paris in 1839 for an engraving depicting Murillo’s Moses and the Water from The Rock, he was appointed honorary Director of Engraving at San Carlos, an institution where he was already a recognised academician.
Though not proven, Harris (T, pages 107-108) suspects that this artist may have been the one who printed Los Caprichos (1798-1799) and La Tauromaquia, both dating from the same period as the portrait. The version in question was created for the sculptor Jose Esteve, Rafael’s brother, who, in 1815, sought to be appointed an honorary academician of San Carlos.
Gaya Nuño, in an expert assessment, highlighted the excellent execution of the hands in this painting. The emotional intimacy is captured as Goya surprises the model holding an engraving plate in his right hand, sitting, with a chromatic interplay where the black of the coat contrasts with the yellows of the armchair. The ear is masterfully insinuated, and the hands are neatly described.
