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Look how pretty she was! Audiodescription.

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• Look how pretty she was!

Julio Romero de Torres became known in the National Exposition of 1895 thanks to this work of impressionist character. The painter received an honorary mention in the exposition. The scene that inspired this painting was a simple and common incident: in the popular neighborhood of Santa Marina, a 15 years old young died. Julio Romero de Torres saw her inside the casket and decided to depict the dead young girl in the room surrounded by her relatives.
This painting combines the three aspects that moved profoundly the spirit of the painter: women, death and folk music. The artist took the title from a well-known soleá (Andalusian folk music) whose name was Look how pretty she was!
The painter got especially influenced by the realist paintings of his father, and his brother Rafael, who years earlier also dealt with death as a painting subject. The painter's palette of his last years tackles subjects with social content, always within the same style that characterizes and defines his beginnings.
The scene shows a young girl lying in her coffin and surrounded by her crying relatives. The deceased’s body is dressed in White. Her hair is long and Black. She is wearing a flower crown on her forehead. She is resting inside the open Coffin, which is in the centre of the room. Surrounding her, her family. The men are wearing a dark suit and white shirt. Some have the typical Spanish black cape on. The women are wearing the typical country dress of the time, blouse and skirt and a shall. They are all giving their condolences. One of the men is taking off the typical Cordova hat. Up front, there is a woman in mourning standing and crying bitterly, covering her face with her hands and apron. Just beside her, on the left, there is a man in mourning with his head down. Sitting on a chair, holding his head with his hand, with his arm resting on the back of the chair. La iluminación de la escena procede de una ventana situada a la izquierda, [where we find the old woman in mourning, sitting. The light of the scene comes from a window situated on the left side where a boy leans out. Two candles watch over the coffin. They seem to be about to blow out due to the wind coming from the window.