Madrid or Flemish school, 18th century. "Bust of Christ". Oil on canvas. It retains its original canvas. It has repainting, restorations on the pictorial layer and damage to the frame. It has a 20th century frame with inscription on the frame. Measurements: 40,5 x 30,5 cm; 46,5 x 37 cm (frame). Devotional image which was probably part of a private collection due to its small size. The scene depicts the bust of Christ in profile, with his gaze fixed on the viewer, and a serious and serene face. The piece has no iconographic element beyond the Nimbus of Holiness that can be seen in the scene, which stands out against the darkness of the canvas, which has a neutral, black background that manages to highlight the luminosity of Christ s face. In terms of technique, the elongation of the facial features is noteworthy, which is close to the aesthetics of the Flemish school, which had a great influence on the development of the Madrid school, due to the connections of the court, who were the main patrons, and therefore had a certain power over the aesthetic taste of the time. The Madrid school emerged around the court of first Philip IV and then Charles II, and developed throughout the 17th century and even into the 18th century, continued by the disciples of the painters of the previous century. Analysts of this school have insisted on considering its development as a result of the binding power of the court; what is truly decisive is not the place of birth of the different artists, but the fact that they were educated and worked around and for a nobiliary and religious clientele based close to royalty. This allowed and encouraged a stylistic unity, even though there were the logical divergences due to the personalities of the members. The origins of the Madrid school are linked to the accession to the throne of Philip IV, a monarch who made Madrid an artistic centre for the first time. This led to an awakening of nationalist awareness by allowing a liberation from the previous Italianate moulds and a leap from the last echoes of Mannerism to Tenebrism.