The discovery of an unpublished painting of Bilbao represents a finding of enormous historic transcendence. In a context where very few visual testimonies of the town from that period are preserved, this work stands as the only known pictorial representation that allows us to reconstruct in detail both the city’s urban layout and its social and economic life at a crucial moment in its development. Having been dated by the experts at the Museum at around 1700, the work is now considered the oldest painted representation of the view of Bilbao, predating Luis Paret’s view of this city.

Carried out in oil, on a large canvas, the painting stands out for its technical and aesthetic originality, portraying a specular view that depicts both shores of the Estuary of Bilbao in meticulous detail, differing greatly from the engraved atlasses common to that period. In this unique representation of the Old Town and ‘Bilbao La Vieja’, with the Estuary as its focal point, the artist created a thoroughly comprehensive topographical, economic and social documentation of the city in the midst of expansion. This ensemble of scenes illustrating the City of Bilbao circa 1700, is crowned by a winged figure holding the city’s emblem, evoking the feeling of celestial protection and the collective identity of the town.

Regarding its historical context, the painting was commissioned by the English merchant John Seale, who lived in Bilbao between 1691 and 1702, and whose fortune was closely tied to the city. Due to the Spanish War of Succession, Seale was forced to return to England, where the painting has remained in the hands of his descendants for centuries.

DELAMANO is immensely proud of this acquisition, and glad to say that this View of Bilbao, of immeasurable historic value, now finds itself in its natural home.