Vicente López y Portaña
Encyclopedia
Vicente López y Portaña (September 19, 1772, Valencia, Spain–July 22, 1850, Madrid
, Spain) was a Spanish painter, considered the best portrait painter of his time.
, and he studied at the Academy of San Carlos
in his native city. He was seventeen when he won first prize in drawing and coloring receiving a scholarship to study in the prestigious Academia Real de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid
. For the following three years in Madrid, he apprenticed with the Valencian painter, Mariano Salvador Maella
. Vicente López returned to Valencia in 1794 and subsequently became vice-director of painting at the Academy where he had studied as a boy. In 1795 he married Maria Piquer, they had two sons: Bernardo López Piquer and Luis (1802–1865), who were also painters, following their father’s style but with little accomplishments. In 1801 López was named President of the Academy of San Carlos.
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When king Charles IV
visited the city of Turia
in 1802, the king appointed him an honorary court painter
at the same time he gave him some comitions that he executed successfully. He was already well known and regarded when in 1814 López was called to the court of Ferdinand VII, the Spanish king, who appointed him official court painter and received a royal appointment. Shortly thereafter he succeeded Goya
as Royal Court Painter during the reign of Ferdinand VII, who also appointed him as drawing teacher of his second wife, Maria Isabella of Portugal, and later of his third wife, Maria Josepha of Saxony
. In 1817 he was named President of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.
Vicente López was a prolific painter executing many religious, allegorical, historic and mythological scenes, but he specialized in portraits. During his long career he painted nearly every notable person in Spain during the first half of the 1800s.
In 1826, López painted a portrait of Francisco Goya
when the famous master visited the court from Bordeaux
, where the Aragonese painter was then living. Goya was then 80 and would die two years later. It was said that Goya got bored posing for his colleague who was very meticulous and a stickler for detail, and that for this reason the portrait is inferior to others by López. However, for this precise reason, and because of the strong personality of the model this is one of López's most lively and best known works.
Vicente López spent the remainder of his life in Madrid painting portraits of statesmen, academics, and other important figures, as well as dramatic and emotional religious subjects. When he died he was court painter of Queen Isabella II. He was seventy eight years old.
style. He had the Neo-classical emphasis on masterly drawing, though with less rigidity. López is considered the best Spanish painter of his time, second only to Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. One of his rivals was Agustín Esteve Marqués.
Lopez’s style is dominated by the influenced of Anton Raphael Mengs
and the Academicism and he was unaffected by the romanticism popular at the end of his career. López had great skills at drawing and with the use of the brush, but he did not achieve the level of genius as Goya did. His best works are probably his drawing and small scale painting.
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain) was a Spanish painter, considered the best portrait painter of his time.
Early life
Vicente López y Portaña was born in Valencia on September 19, 1772. His parents were Cristóbal López Sanchordi and Manuela Portaña Meer. Vicente López began formally studying painting in Valencia at the age of thirteen, he was a disciple of father Antonio de Villanueva, a Franciscan monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, and he studied at the Academy of San Carlos
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia has been a Spanish Art school in Valencia since 1768.- History :...
in his native city. He was seventeen when he won first prize in drawing and coloring receiving a scholarship to study in the prestigious Academia Real de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. For the following three years in Madrid, he apprenticed with the Valencian painter, Mariano Salvador Maella
Mariano Salvador Maella
Mariano Salvador Maella was a Spanish painter.Born in Valencia, Maella moved to Madrid, where he studied sculpture with Felipe de Castro in Madrid, and painting with a poorly known painter by the surname González. He became painter of the chamber to the king and director general of the Academia...
. Vicente López returned to Valencia in 1794 and subsequently became vice-director of painting at the Academy where he had studied as a boy. In 1795 he married Maria Piquer, they had two sons: Bernardo López Piquer and Luis (1802–1865), who were also painters, following their father’s style but with little accomplishments. In 1801 López was named President of the Academy of San Carlos.
Court painter
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
visited the city of Turia
Turia
Turia can refer to:*Turia , a river in southeastern Spain*Turía , a small river in northern Spain*Turía , a small Web development company in india*Turia Valley, a valley in northern Spain...
in 1802, the king appointed him an honorary court painter
Court painter
A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or noble family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Especially in the late Middle Ages, they were often given the office of valet de chambre...
at the same time he gave him some comitions that he executed successfully. He was already well known and regarded when in 1814 López was called to the court of Ferdinand VII, the Spanish king, who appointed him official court painter and received a royal appointment. Shortly thereafter he succeeded Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
as Royal Court Painter during the reign of Ferdinand VII, who also appointed him as drawing teacher of his second wife, Maria Isabella of Portugal, and later of his third wife, Maria Josepha of Saxony
Maria Josepha of Saxony
Maria Josepha of Saxony was Queen consort of Spain as the wife of King Ferdinand VII of Spain...
. In 1817 he was named President of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.
Vicente López was a prolific painter executing many religious, allegorical, historic and mythological scenes, but he specialized in portraits. During his long career he painted nearly every notable person in Spain during the first half of the 1800s.
In 1826, López painted a portrait of Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
when the famous master visited the court from Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, where the Aragonese painter was then living. Goya was then 80 and would die two years later. It was said that Goya got bored posing for his colleague who was very meticulous and a stickler for detail, and that for this reason the portrait is inferior to others by López. However, for this precise reason, and because of the strong personality of the model this is one of López's most lively and best known works.
Style
Vicente López was a Neo-classicist painter but he retained certain traces of the RococoRococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style. He had the Neo-classical emphasis on masterly drawing, though with less rigidity. López is considered the best Spanish painter of his time, second only to Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. One of his rivals was Agustín Esteve Marqués.
Lopez’s style is dominated by the influenced of Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs was a German painter, active in Rome, Madrid and Saxony, who became one of the precursors to Neoclassical painting.- Biography :Mengs was born in 1728 at Ústí nad Labem in Bohemia...
and the Academicism and he was unaffected by the romanticism popular at the end of his career. López had great skills at drawing and with the use of the brush, but he did not achieve the level of genius as Goya did. His best works are probably his drawing and small scale painting.