This is the painting said to have launched Philpot's career. He had begun his formal art education at the Lambeth School of Art at the age of only fifteen and later, in 1905, at the Académie Julian in Paris. But the first great turning point in his artistic development came in 1908, during his travels in Spain. Upon returning to Britain, he embarked on a series of paintings inspired by his experiences in Spain, work that clearly shows the lingering influence of Goya and Velázquez, those artists that had, previously, had such a strong effect on, among others, Manet and Sargent. (In fact, it's nearly impossible not to see a direct line from Manet's Spanish-themed paintings to this piece.)
"Manuelito, the Circus Lad" was first exhibited at the Modern Society of Portrait Painters in 1910, causing a sensation, and focusing the spotlight on the young artist, who would soon become a greatly sought-after society portraitist. After being shown at the Venice Biennale in that same year, the painting was bought by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, in whose collection it still resides.
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