Luis Ricardo Falero (May 23, 1851 – December 7, 1896) was a Spanish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

. He specialized in female nudes and

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, orientalist and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

settings.Luis Ricardo Falero biography
at ArtMagick.com His most common medium was

oil on canvas Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest o ...

. Falero’s paintings are held mostly within private collections in Europe and the United States, although a watercolour of the ‘Twin Stars’ is in the collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York. In England, Falero sometimes gave himself the title of Duke of Labranzano, a fictitious place name.

Biography

Falero was born in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

and originally pursued a career in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, but gave it up to his parents' disappointment. He travelled on foot to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where he studied art, chemistry and mechanical engineering. The experiments which he had to conduct in the latter two were dangerous, leading him to decide to focus on painting alone. He was a student of Gabriel Ferrier. After Paris, he studied in London, where he eventually settled. Falero had a particular interest in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and incorporated celestial constellations into many of his works, such as "The Marriage of a Comet" and "Twin Stars". His interest and knowledge of astronomy also led him to illustrate the works of

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science ficti ...

. In 1889, in

Rochford Rochford is a town in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford, the county town. At the 2011 census, the civil parish, which includes the town and London Southend Airport, had a population of 8,471. History ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, Falero married Maria Cristina Spinelli, and in 1891 they were living at 100 Fellows Road, Hampstead. His wife was Italian and had a connection with Atina in the

Province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area o ...

."Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare" in ''Bollettino ufficiale delle nomine, promozioni e destinazioni negli ufficiali e sottufficiali del R. esercito italiano e nel personale dell'amministrazione militare'' (1937), pp. 5283
5289
/ref> In 1896, the year of his death, Maud Harvey sued Falero for paternity. The suit alleged that Falero seduced Harvey when she was 17, first serving as his housemaid, and then model. When he discovered she was pregnant, he dismissed her. She won the case and was awarded five shillings per week in support of their child. Falero died at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lon ...

, London, at the age of 45, leaving an estate valued for probate at £1,139. His widow María Cristina Falero was his executrix."FALERO Ricardo Luis of 100 Fellows-road Hampstead Middlesex artist died 7 December 1896 at University-college-hospital Gower-street" in ''Wills and Administrations (England and Wales) for 1897'' (1898), p. 12 In 1937, following the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethio ...

, an Italian

War Cross of Military Valor The War Cross for Military Valor ( it, Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare) is an Italian order for military valor. Established in 1922, the cross may be awarded only in time of war. Appearance The medal is a Greek cross made of copper. Inscri ...

was awarded to Riccardo Falero of Atina, Frosinone, referencing Maria Cristina Spinelli, suggesting that Falero had a son posthumously.

Gallery

File:Witches going to their Sabbath, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''Witches on the Sabbath'' (1878) File:Les Nymphes.jpg, ''Les Nymphes'' File:Falero Luis Ricardo Enchantress.jpg, ''The Enchantress'' (1878) File:La Pose, by Luis Riccardo Falero.jpg, ''Posing'' (1879) File:Faust's Dream, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''Faust's Dream'' (1880) File:Falero Luis Riccardo La favorite 1880 Oil On Canvas.jpg, ''La Favorite'' (1880) File:Falero 3 the party at the tavern 12101495235961.jpg, ''Fiesta in the Tavern'' (1880) File:LuisRicardsFalero-AFairyUnderStarry1Skies-Large.jpg, ''Festival of the Witches'' (1880) File:The witch, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''The witch, painted on a tambourine'' (1882) File:Luis Ricardo Falero - The Planet Venus.jpg, ''The Planet Venus'' (1882) File:Falero Luis Ricardo moon nymph.jpg, ''Moon Nymph'' (1883) File:A Fairy Under Starry Skies, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''Fairy Under Starry Skies'' File:Prayer to Isis, by Luis Ricardo Faléro.jpg, ''Prayer to Isis'' (1883) File:Le vin de Tokai, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''The Wine of Tokay'' (1886) File:Falero Luis Ricardo Lily Fairy 1888.jpg, ''Lily Fairy'' (1888) File:An allegory of art, by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''An allegory of art'' (1892) File:The Balance of the Zodiac by Luis Ricardo Falero.jpg, ''The Balance of the Zodiac'' File:Falero Luis Riccardo An Oriental Beauty.jpg, ''Oriental Beauty'' File:Falero-Orient.jpg, ''The Favorite''

References

* Eduardo Dizy Caso (1997) ''Les orientalistes de l'École Espagnole''. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. pp. 96–97

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falero, Luis Ricardo 1851 births 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 1896 deaths Artists from London Dukes of Spain Orientalist painters People from Granada Spanish expatriates in England Spanish inventors