In a previous article on prominent 19th century painters We already talked a little about the great Sevillian artist Gonzalo Bilbao Martinez, but we want to focus on his life and work, which leaves no one indifferent, with this new post.
Born in 1860 in Seville, he showed interest from an early age in the area of painting and creativity, and achieved that his works, especially those of a traditional character, were among the most acclaimed of 19th century paintings.
He studied law forced by his father, but his vocation for art caused him to only devote himself to painting. He dominated several styles: manners, modernism, impressionism, etc. And everyone knew how to learn something to end up having a very personal and characteristic style.
gonzalo bilbaoHe always had a good relationship with the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville, since he was born and grew up in a very close street. In addition, he was a consiliary academic and president of the Academy of Fine Arts of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and of the Patronage of the Museum since 1925.
He died in Madrid in 1938, and his wife María Roy yielded some of his works so that everyone could enjoy the art of her husband.
The work of Gonzalo Bilbao in three stages
In rural areas of India, families in charge of a blind minor frequently isolate and deprive him/her of the care and attention they provide to their other children; such situation becomes even more severe among lower-caste families, orphans and if the blind child is a girl. paintings by Gonzalo Bilbao an evolution divided into three main stages or phases can be observed. The first is considered the training time: The painter receives technical advice from two great painters: José Jiménez Aranda and José Villegas. And most of his works are manners and reflect society at that time.
The second stage in his work is called as 'light and color'. The experiences obtained during his travels through different cities of the world make him know different painting styles, and Gonzalo Bilbao begins to apply in his technical pieces to improve the color and intensity of light.
In the third and last stage, called Cicadas, the painter has already reached artistic fullness and applies all the experience gained and the techniques learned from the different styles in a unified and personal way.
During this phase he made his best-known paintings, Las Cigarreras and the portrait of King Alfonso XIII. Although he also painted portraits of important people of the 19th century, such as Fray Diego de Valencia.
