Presumed Portrait of José Higinio Arche

Within Vicente López’s lengthy career and large oeuvre his portraits are undoubtedly particularly notable and this is a previously unpublished example. Presumed to depict José Higinio Arche, it is signed and dated 1841 just before López reached his seventieth year. The identification of the sitter, whose birth and death dates are not precisely known, is based on the attributes seen in the image. He is shown as elegantly dressed as befits the holder of a high administrative post, standing and surrounded by pieces of paper and bundles of documents relating to his work…