Ricardo Arredondo Calmache (23 October 1850 – 1911) was a Spanish painter who specialized in landscapes and

costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19 ...

scenes; known for his meticulous attention to detail.

Biography

He was born in

Cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

. His father was a veteran of the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist su ...

. His uncle was a priest who later became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

in Toledo. With his support, the family moved to Toledo when Arredondo was twelve years old. He refused to enter a military cadet school and took art lessons from Matías Moreno until he was able to enroll at the "Escuela Especial de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Madrid", where he studied with

Carlos de Haes Carlos Sebastián Pedro Hubert de Haes (January 25, 1829 – June 17, 1898) was a Spanish painter from Belgium.Caso, E. F., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Espagnole,'' ACR edition, 1997, p. 128 He was noted for the Realism in his landscapes, ...

.Brief biography
@ the

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 ...

. He then travelled to Paris, where he associated with the circle of

Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of Édo ...

and was exposed to the influence of the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its nam ...

. Upon returning to Spain, he participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts and would continue to be a regular participant for the next two decades. He also travelled throughout Spain, creating drawings for a major publishing project that never came to fruition. Upon the death of his uncle, who had become Chaplain to the King, he inherited a small fortune. He used the money to buy and refurbish a dilapidated mansion.

Gregorio Marañón Gregorio Marañón y Posadillo, OWL (19 May 1887 in Madrid – 27 March 1960 in Madrid) was a Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer and philosopher. He married Dolores Moya in 1911, and they had four children (Carmen, Belén, María ...

described him as a man who rarely sold any paintings, but enjoyed regaling his friends; notably the writer

Benito Pérez Galdós Benito Pérez Galdós (May 10, 1843 – January 4, 1920) was a Spanish realist novelist. He was the leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Miguel de Cervantes in stature as a Spanish no ...

, for whom he served as a sort of "

cicerone Cicerone ( ) is an old term for a guide who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest. The word is presumably taken from Marcus Tullius Cicero, ...

".''Vida de Galdós''
by Pedro Ortiz Armengal, Grupo Planeta, 2000 He also served as a municipal councillor and was a member of the Monument Commission, where he oversaw restoration of the

Puerta de Bisagra Nueva View from the outside of the city., 250px The Puerta de Bisagra Nueva ("The New Bisagra Gate") is the best known city gate of Toledo, Spain. The gate is of Moorish origin, but the main part was built in 1559 by Alonso de Covarrubias.Harold Osborn ...

. This brought him a corresponding membership in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes. His numerous cityscapes and landscapes around the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

earned him the title "Pintor de Toledo". He died in

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 ...

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Arredondo.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arredondo Calmache, Ricardo 1850 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish landscape painters Spanish genre painters People from Toledo, Spain

Biography

References

Further reading

External links