*** artists illustrating boys fashions: nationalities-- Spain








Spanish Artists Illustrating Boys' Fashions

Spanish art

Figure 1.--This portrait of Don Baltazar Carlos was painted by Spanish master Velazquez about 1635. Velasquez did, however, not limit himself to wealthy aristocrats.

Spain was the superpower of the 16th Century. The wealth pouring in from the exploitation of the American colonies financed a vast outpouring of art. El Greco created images of Spain at the heighth of its power and influence in the 16th century. Murillo and Velasquez created images of Spain still in its imperal glory during the 17th century. Goya's brooding images of war stand in sharp contrast to David's heroic French images. Spanish artist Picasso is seen by many as the greatest artist of the 20th century. Spain also played an imporatant role in setting fashions.

Berruguete, Pedro (Spain, 1450-1504)

Pedro Berruguete is one of the earliest great Spanish artists. Painting as he did during the 15th century, most of his work was on religious themes. There were, however, some important secular portraits. We do not know a great deal about Berruguette at this time. We know he worked in Italy, especially in Urbino, for some time. His portrait Federigo de Montefeltro provides a charming view of the home of a famed Italian mercenary of the age with his son which he painted about 1480. This is the first known reference to Beruguete and his first known work. The famed condottiere, Federigo di Montefeltro, duke of Urbino, had commissioned Joos van Gent to decorate the library and study of his palace with allegories to the liberal arts as well as portraits of both Biblical and pagan thinkers. Berruguete apparently collaborated with van Gent as well as painted the Duke. Later in life Berruguete provides us a more sobering image of the era--a view of the Holy Inquisition painted about 1500.

Dali, Salvador (Spain, 1904- )

Spanish painter Salvador Dali was born near Barcelona in 1904. He was a spoiled, imperious but shy boy. He studied at the Academia of Fine Arts in Madrid and later Paris where he became a leader of the surealist movement. His paintings excited storms of controversy when they were first displayed. He came to the United States in 1934 as conditiions in Spain were beginning to destabilize.

Esquivel y Suárez de Urbina, Antonio María (Spain, 1806-57)

Antonio María Esquivel y Suárez de Urbina (1806–57) is an important Spanish portratist. He is classified as a Romantic artist. We are not entirely sure why as his portraits are highly realistic--we do not see the emotionalism commonly atributed to the Romantics. He is valuable to our HBC website because his images come at a time before the invention of photography and then before we see really large numbers of images, in part because Spain was such a poor country at the time. He was an active artist, although died at a fairly young age. Antonio was born Seville. Seville was the gateway of the Spain's fabulous trans-Atlantic trade ans treasure ships managed by the Casa de Contratación. It became one of the largest cities in Western Europe (16th-17th centuries). By the 19th century when Antonio was born, and Spain lost most of it Empire, the city had declined. Anononio's father was a cavalry officer killed in the Napoleonic Wars when he wa very young (1808). He became interested in art from a very early age. His career was cut short byb a illness in which he lost his site. Friends helped him get medical attention in France so he could continue painting. Most of his portaits are of the rich and famous if Spanish society, but there areseveral portraits of their children. He died in Madrid, at the relative young age of 51 years (1857). Only a few years after his death, the CDV appeared creating vast numbers of images. But before that the number of photographic images were very limited.

Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (Spain, 1746-1828)

Goya is along with El Greco and Velasquez, is one of the three great pillers of Spanish art. Goya addressed many different genres and styles. He was the court painter to Charles IV. He is widely known for his portraits of Spanish nobility, including boys, but he also painted many accomplished scenes of modern life.

(El) Greco (Greece/Spain, 1541-1614)

El Greco (the Greek) was born on Crete. He is best known for his painting, but he was a sculptor and architect as well. Crete at the time was under Venetian control. While born on Crete, he is more associated with Spain where he settled. He is the first great Spanish artist. His actual name was Domenikos Theotocopoulos. Despite working in Spain, he always signed his works in Greek characters, sometimes followed by Kres (Cretan). Other than portraits, most of his paintings has religious themes. We know only a few works in which boys were depicted showing the fashions of the day in Spain.

Murillo, Bartolome Esteban (Spain, 1618-82)

Among the great Spanish painters, Bartolome Esteban Murillo has to be listed. Murillo like Velazquez began his caeeer by painting street scenes. Unlike Velaquez hw never suceeded in making grand court connections. Murillowas especially noted for his paintings of street urchins ("Boys eating melons and grapes"; "Boys playing with marbles"). He also did some important religious works as well, like "St. John as a boy with a lamb". He was born and died in Seville. In truth Murillo loved children and this attachment can be seen in his portraits of them. They are very realistic portraits, Some are slightly idealized, but still very early. Murillo had 11 children. Sadly many died in childhood. At the end he was left nearly alone/

Picasso, Pablo (Spain, 1881-1973)

Pablo Picasso is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. Pablo Picasso was born in 1881. His father was an art teacher at recognized at an early age that his son was very talented. He devoted considerable effort in developing that talent. There is a small museum in Barcelona, the Museo de Picasso, that focuses on the artists early works. Picasso went through many stages and as a resulted painted in many diffeent styles. He is best known for cubism but many of his early works are stkingly realistic. From an early age he exibited a rebelious spirit. He spent much time in in th Barcelona cafes as a teenagers debating the issues of the day with friends. He went to Paris and was influenced by the impressionists and other Frenchh art movements. He was especially struck by Toulouse-Lautrec's sketchy appoach. He spent his early years moving back and forth between Frnce and Spain. We include him here because of his enormous impact on Western art. He did many portraits, but relatively few provide detailed information on clothing.

Romero de Torres, Julio (Spain, 1874-1930)

Julio Romero de Torres was born Córdoba in southern Spain (1874). He grew uo and kived there most of his life. His father was the well-regarded painter impresionist Rafael Romero Barros. His mother was Rosario de Torres Delgado. Julio grew ip in an artisric family. His farther who was the director, curator and founder of Córdoba's Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes taught him to paint. He demonrated a an interest in art at a young age. He entered the the School of Fine Arts when he was only 10 years old. He went to Madrid to work and study (1906). He also travelled around Europe to study . He deveoped a symbolist style, meaning ommunicating ideas through symbols instead of depicting reality in various ways. Some of his oaintings look realistuc to us, perhaps portraits done on commission. We noitice a portrait of the Basabe family with the noys weating Faintleroy suits (1919). We know mothing about the family, bur the portarit suggests that they were rich.

Sorolla y Bastida, Joaquin (Spain, 1863-1923)

Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was from Valencia. He began his education as a painter when he was 15 years old. He moved to Madrid when he was 18 years old and supported himself by copying old masters at the Prado. At age 22 he was awarded a grant to study in Rome. He developed a wonderful ability to depict the effect of sunlight on his subjects and the whiteor light-colored clothing they wore. He was especially noted for his sunny portraits of children at the seaside during the early 20th century. The boys are often depicted without clothing. The girls wear a long shirt. Sorolla painted many of his beach pictures at Valencia. He worked rpidly. He liked to work outdoors in the sunlight. Sorolla can be considered a Spanish impressionist and much like the French impressionists. He was fascinated with the interplay of sun and water and the myriad of people depicted in his scenes.

Velazquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva (Spain, 1599-1660)

Velaquez is generally recognized as the chief painters of the Spanish school and one of the great masters of all time. He was born in Seville and was a self-taught painter. He first visited Madrid, the royal capital, in 1622. He made his name there with one of his street scenes, the "Water seller". King Philip IV commissioned him to paint his portrait. Velazquez was appointed pintor en camara, with a lucrative stipend. He furthur improved his acclaim at court with a work appealing to Spanish nationalism, Expulsion of the Moriscos and was appointed usher of the chamber. He traveled in Italy to learn about the art of the great masters. He returned to Italy in 1648-50 with a commission from the king to buy art. Many of his paintings are portraits of the royal family and Spanish nobels. Many were painted as children giving an excellent view of how aristocratic Spanish children were dressed in the 17th Century--esentially in scaled-down versions of how their parents were dressed. Velasquez as demonstrated by the "Water seller" did not limit himself to wealthy aristocrats.






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Created: April 27, 2002
Last updated: 3:05 PM 11/28/2023