(The Cellist) / 1891 / Oil on canvas / 175.26 x 110.49 cm / Artist: Miguel Zaragoza

Zaragoza suggested the mellow hum of the cello through the casually unfurled musical piece that appears to float in front of the fiddler. The fiddler is well defined to show his intense absorption in his music. In contrast is the ethereal-looking woman in native costume whose figure also seems afloat behind; she evidently represents the musician’s muse.

Zaragoza captured the musician’s forlorn surroundings as well as the typical ruggedness of poor homes in the 1890s in such details as the artist’s stubbled face, his feet socked into felt slippers, the rough flooring, and the rattan stool that supports the musical piece. Dramatic contrast of light and shadow sets the lonely atmosphere. The painting is almost monochromatic, dominated by browns and the grayish violet of the fiddler’s trousers, and relieved only by the red of the muse’s skirt.

A Zaragoza masterpiece, El Violoncellista was awarded a silver medal by the Universal Exposition in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1904.