Miguel Parra Abril (1780,

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

- 13 October 1846,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

) was a Spanish artist who served as

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to King

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. He is best known for his portraits and

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, book ...

s; mostly of floral arrangements. The famous portrait painter,

Vicente López Portaña Vicente López Portaña, OIC (; September 19, 1772July 22, 1850) was a Spanish painter, considered one of the best portrait painters of his time. Early life Vicente López Portaña was born in Valencia on September 19, 1772. His parents wer ...

, was his brother-in-law.

Biography

He studied with

Benito Espinós Benito Espinós (1748, Valencia - March 23, 1818, Valencia) was a Spanish painter who specialized in floral still-lifes and ornamentation. Biography His father, José Espinós (1721-1784), was a painter and engraver who had trained with the Bar ...

, in the School of Flowers and Ornamentation at the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia (Spanish for ''Saint Charles Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Valencia'') has been a Spanish Art school in Valencia since 1768. History The institution is deemed to be the follow-on instit ...

. In 1803, he was named an Academician of Merit for flower painting there and, in 1811, received the same title for history painting.Pérez Sánchez (1983), p. 214. While there, he worked at the Estudio de Flores, where he created designs for the silk industry. In 1812, he was appointed an assistant professor of painting at the Academia but, in 1814, failed to succeed Espinós as a professor. Due to this, in 1815, following the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

, he moved to Madrid, where he presented the King with several canvases depicting the King's recent triumphal return. This earned him a royal appointment. He eventually had to return to Valencia, due to his parents' poor health, but continued to submit paintings to the court; receiving an annual pension of 600 Ducats.Alba, pp. 341-344 In 1821, he was named Director of Painting at the Academia and, two years, became General Director. After the death of King Ferdinand, he continued to be associated with the court; becoming the favorite painter of the Regent, Maria Christina. Following the

Confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...

of 1836, he was entrusted with the collection of works that came into the government's possession from the , which now forms part of the Museu de Belles Arts de Valencia. He oversaw the career of his son, José Felipe (1824-1864), who also became a painter. He died while accompanying Josép on a trip to Madrid; to present his works to Queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the success ...

. His works may be seen at the Museu de Belles Artes, the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

and

Valencia cathedral Valencia Cathedral, at greater length the Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia ( es, Iglesia Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de Valencia, ca-valencia, Església Cated ...

, among others.

References

External links

Biography
@

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parra Abril, Miguel 1780 births 1846 deaths Artists from Valencia 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters Spanish floral still life painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links