Juan de Piña y Ruiz de Cárdenas
- 1788
- Oil on canvas
- 111,5 x 77 cm
- Cat. P_170
- Commissioned from the artist by the Banco Nacional de San Carlos in 1784
Detailed records of payments in the daily ledger of the Banco de San Carlos confirm that this portrait of Juan de Piña y Ruiz de Cárdenas, Governor of the Banco de San Carlos and Commissioner of the King's Armies, is one of the few paintings that can be ascribed with certainty to Francisco Folch de Cardona. This Valencia-born artist was a sometime rival of Goya, and was appointed as a royal painter at the same time as the latter.
The ledgers show a payment of 2200 reales on 15 October 1788, so the picture is fully contemporary with the far more famous portraits painted by Goya. Folch de Cardona's style is a little dry, but it has a certain linear elegance and he was clearly an intense portrait artist capable of accurately capturing individuality. The fine clothing, including a vest and frock coat, worn by the sitter and the 'Napoleonic' gesture of concealing his right hand inside his waistcoat, the left hand holding a cane and the elegant rapier at his side all make this very much a 'period piece'. The figure stands out clearly thanks to the linear arabesque of his profile.
As occurred with Goya, Folch de Cardona’s status as a protegé of the Count of Floridablanca gave him powerful backing from his early years as a portrait artist in the service of the Banco de San Carlos. As a result the Banco de España now holds a large number of portraits by him.
Comments updated by Carlos Martín.
He was the son of Gaspar de Piña y Fernández Andrade, who was born in Murcia and rose to be mayor of that city, and Teresa Ruiz de Cárdenas of Orihuela (Alicante). He was a sailor but left the navy to join his father and his uncle at the Naval Ministry, where his father was Quartermaster General for Toro and Cuenca. Records show that in 1780 he was a war commissioner and in 1798 he rose to the rank of Quartermaster General of the army.
He was a leading shareholder of the Banco de San Carlos on its founding in 1782 as a private bank under royal protection. At the General Meeting of December 1785 he was appointed as governor for two years in representation of the nobility, and he duly held the post in 1876 and 1787. In 1791 and 1972 he was appointed as a commissioner of the Bank. During those same years he worked as an inspector of provisions and apparel for the army, the navy and prisons, as these functions had been delegated to the Bank in Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia. In that role he proposed improvements in contracts, infrastructure work, regulations, etc.
He married María García de García, with whom he had one daughter: Mariana. He retired to his home city of Murcia, where he died in 1820. He was a member of the Order of St James.
Extract from: J. M. Teijeiro de la Rosa: Diccionario biográfico español, Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 2009-2013.
Other works by Francisco Folch de Cardona