Portrait of Captain Antonio José Clemente de Aróstegui
- unknown artist
Unknown artist, Portrait of Captain Antonio José Clemente de Aróstegui, about 1783. Oil paint on canvas scroll mounted on gilt wood; 28¾ × 18½ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2013.327.
This painting is mounted as a scroll so it could be rolled up for travel. The subject is Captain Antonio José Clemente de Aróstegui, an infantry captain in the Aragon Regiment of the Spanish Army. We know this because of his white jacket with red cuffs and the epaulettes on his shoulders, which indicate his rank. The insignia of the knightly order of Santiago appears on his jacket and on a matching pendant suspended from a diamond bow pin. His belt buckle bears the royal insignia of the Order of Carlos III, King of Spain. Both orders were among the most distinguished honors granted in Spain.
--Julie Wilson Frick, 2017
- "From Viceregal to Verancular: Painting in Colonial Mexico and New Mexico," Nov 17, 2006-Apr 29, 2007, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Santa Fe