Slave for sale

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Una esclava en venta is a painting by José Jiménez Aranda. Aranda was a Spanish painter, from Sevilla.  The painting was made in 1897. Today, it is in the Museo de Málaga (in Spain). In English, it is called Slave for sale.

It measures 100 by 82cm.

In 1905, the Museo de Arte Moderno bought the painting. Today, the Museo de Arte Moderno is part of Museo del Prado. It was in that museum between 1905 an 1971. Between 1971 and 1995,  it was shown in the Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo . From 1995 to 2016 it was in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Today, it is in the Museo de Málaga.

 Description 
The painting shows a young slave, who is completely naked. The slave is sitting on a carpet. The slave shows a sign in Greek. The sign offers her for sale. The scene also shows part of an oriental market. In the background, the feet of possible buyers can be seen. They are standing around her to look at her (helplessness while naked, or)  helpless nudity. 

This painting is one of the most emblematic paintings of  José Jiménez Aranda. It is also one of the most interesting nude paintings showing women of Spanish painting of the 19th century.  Aranda painted few pictures of nude women, and few with an orientalist theme.

Painters of his generation loved to paint in this style. The painting shows the taste for the exotic and oriental. It also keeps with  the ideals of Romanticism. It shows sensuality and high quality when studying the human anatomy. The framing is unusual. It shows a prostrate young woman surrounded by the feet of her possible buyers. This is a setting which is similar to ones used in movies. There also is a high contrast between the vividly-colored carpet and the pale skin of the slave, who is shown with great dignity.

There is a Greek text on the sign. It reads:

This can be translaed as

 References 

 Other websites 

 Decription of the work at the Museo del Prado.
Category:Slavery in  art
Category:1890s paintings