Ricardo De Madrazo

Ricardo Federico de Madrazo y Garreta (7 February 1852 – 18 August 1917) was a Spanish painter from the Madrazo family of artists, best known for his Orientalist works. He was also the brother-in-law of the great Spanish Orientalist, Mariano Fortuny, who would be a major influence on both his life and work.

Biography

Ricardo Frederico de Madrazo y Garretta was born in Madrid into a family of artists with a noble background. His grandfather was José de Madrazo, the painter and former Director of the Prado Museum; his father was Federico de Madrazo, also a painter; his uncles were Luis de Madrazo, a painter, Pedro de Madrazo, an art critic and Juan de Madrazo, an architect; while his brother was Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, also a painter.Caso, E.D., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Espagnole,'' ACR edition, 1997, p. 158 His maternal grandfather was Tadeusz Kuntze, a Polish painter. The Madrazo family have been described as one of the most important painting dynasties, who literally dominated 19th-century painting in Spain.

Madrazo and his brother, Raimundo, initially studied art with their father. Later he pursued formal studies at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando with Joaquim Espalter and the sculptors Ricardo Bellver and Ponciano Ponzano.Brief biography
@ the Museo del Prado.

In 1866, he became friends with Marià Fortuny, who would have a major influence on his art and life. The following year, Fortuny married his sister, Cecilia de Madrazo. He accompanied the Fortuny family to Toledo, then went with him to Rome, where he studied at the Accademia Chiggi. Later, he and his brother Raimundo would work in Fortuny's studio.

De Madrazo accompanied Fortuny and his family again when they moved to Paris and spent his time copying works at the Louvre and the Musée du Luxembourg. During the Franco-Prussian War, he and Raimundo returned to Spain; settling in Granada. Later, he travelled to Morocco with Fortuny and Josep Tapiró, then returned to Rome. He travelled to Morocco again following Fortuny's untimely death in 1874. After Fortuny's death, de Madrazo took care of his studio; cataloguing his works and arranging for an auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Meanwhile, his sister, Cecilia, devoted the rest of her life to the preservation of her husband's memory.Pulido, N., "El Prado publica el epistolario del Archivo Madrazo," ''ABC Cultura,'' 2 December 2017
Online
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After Fortuny's death, de Madrazo moved between Paris, Madrid and Tangiers; living in Venice for a short time, marrying in 1884 and finally settling in Madrid in 1885 and using it as base to make annual trips to Paris and Venice. Once established in Madrid, he began to focus on portraits, which were a Madrazo family specialty. Among those who visited him at his studio were Queen Maria Christina, the philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington, the French art collector Paul Durand-Ruel and President William Taft. His knowledge of ancient art made him a sought-after adviser.

Work

His most well-known works include:

* ''Marroquíes'' (Moroccans)
* ''Turistas y Mendigos'' (Tourists and Beggars)
* ''Un Mercado de Fez'' (A Market in Fez)
* ''Alto en una Caravana árabe'' (Stop for an Arab Caravan)
* ''Atelier de Fortuny'' (Marià Fortuny's Studio in Rome), 1874 (now in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)
* ''Resto de la Caravana Árabe'' (Rest for an Arab Caravan), 1880
* ''Un Árabe de Sud'' (A Moor from the South), 1881

Selected paintings

(Barcelona) El taller de Marià Fortuny a Roma - Ricardo de Madrazo - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.jpg, ''Marià Fortuny's Studio,'' 1874
Ricardo de Madrazo y Garreta - Rest Halt for an Arab Caravan - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Rest Stop for an Arab Caravan,'' 1877
RMadrazo-Warrior.jpg, ''Arab Warrior by a Fountain,'' 1878
RMadrazo-Moor.jpg, ''Moor from the South,'' 1881
RMadrazo-Songstress.jpg, ''The Songstress,'' 1901
Ricardo de Madrazo y Garreta Retrato de Santiago Ramón y Cajal 1910.jpg, ''Portrait of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, '' 1910

See also

*List of Orientalist artists
*Orientalism

References

Further reading

* Museo Municipal, ''Los Madrazo, una familia de artistas'' (exhibition catalog), Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Concejalía de Cultura, 1985

External links

ArtNet: More works by Madrazo.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madrazo, Ricardo de
1852 births
1917 deaths
19th-century Spanish painters
19th-century Spanish male artists
Spanish male painters
20th-century Spanish painters
20th-century Spanish male artists
Spanish portrait painters
Spanish Orientalist painters
Painters from Madrid
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni
Sibling artists