Curatorial Narrative The Condesa de San Mateo de Valparaso y Marquesa de Jaral de Berrio stands resplendent in the midst of an opulent interior, its Baroque contours evoking the grandeur of 18th-century Mexico’s aristocratic class. Painted by Andrs de Islas in 1776, this portrait exemplifies the artist’s mastery of fine brushwork and his ability to coax a rich chromatic structure from his palette. The reds and blacks that dominate the composition are tempered by wisps of white and blue, their interplay creating an atmospheric weight that draws the viewer inexorably into the subject’s realm. As this painting is enlarged to its actual size of 44×73 inches, its spatial rhythm becomes even more pronounced, with the ornate architecture receding into deep space. The chromatic structure, meanwhile, undergoes a subtle shift, as the rich reds and blacks begin to dominate the visual field, their impact tempered only by the judicious deploym