Beruete y Moret, Aureliano de – La Casa del Sordo (Madrid) Part 2 Prado Museum

The canvas presents a view of a cityscape receding into distance, dominated by a large, pale structure that appears institutional or governmental in nature. The foreground is characterized by a cluster of buildings with terracotta roofs and whitewashed walls, nestled within a landscape of dry grasses and scrubby vegetation. A sense of elevation is established; the viewer seems to be looking down upon this scene.
The artist’s handling of paint is loose and expressive, particularly evident in the depiction of the sky. Here we see swirling brushstrokes that convey movement and atmospheric depth, with hues ranging from pale blues and whites to touches of grey and pink suggesting a diffused light source. The application of pigment is similarly textured across the landscape, creating a palpable sense of dryness and heat.
The composition directs attention towards the distant structure, which stands as a stark contrast to the more intimate scale of the buildings in the foreground. This juxtaposition might suggest a commentary on the relationship between individual life and larger societal or political forces. The muted color palette – primarily earth tones punctuated by the white of the buildings and the pale sky – contributes to an overall feeling of quietude and perhaps even melancholy.
The presence of bare trees, their branches reaching towards the sky, reinforces this sense of sparseness and solitude. While there is a certain beauty in the scene’s simplicity, it also evokes a feeling of isolation and detachment. The artist seems less interested in precise representation than in capturing an emotional atmosphere – a mood of quiet contemplation within a specific place. The signature at the lower right corner indicates authorship without disrupting the overall visual harmony.