Una carita

Una Carita ('A Little Face') depicts a child's face in a close, intimate portrait study—the Italian title and affectionate diminutive suggesting either a specifically Italian sitter or an evocation of the warm, informal intimacy associated with Mediterranean child portraiture in the manner of Murillo. The cardboard support indicates an informal or sketch-quality work rather than an exhibition canvas. Alma-Tadema painted children relatively rarely in comparison with his adult figure subjects, but when he did, he brought the same careful attention to facial character that distinguished his portraiture. The work's unknown current location suggests private ownership. The affectionate title implies a personal relationship to the subject—possibly a family member or a child encountered in Rome during his research trips.

Oil on cardboard with the sketchy, intimate quality appropriate to an informal child study. The close-up facial format concentrates entirely on the rendering of a child's soft features, bright eyes, and spontaneous expression—qualities that require rapid capture before the subject's attention wanders.