Ricardo Macarrón Jaime (1926–2004), was a Spanish painter and portraitist. He is known for his court paintings for European royalty and portraits of

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

, including four generations of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

, and Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg.

Early life

Ricardo Macarrón Jaime was born on 9 April 1926 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His father Juan Macarrón Despierto owned a workshop for art restorers and carvers. Macarrón attended

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

, studying under . While he was a student he made his first portrait of artist Joaquín García Donaire in 1943. Macarrón won many art awards while he was a student. He met his future wife Alicia Iturrioz in college, where she also attended too. Together they had two daughters.

Career and late life

He had three marked periods of style in his paintings – from 1955 to 1960 he was working with a cubist influence; from 1960 to 1968 his work was darker and emphasized "disenchantment"; and in later life in the 1990s the work reflected his strong technical skills and techniques. Macarrón had painted portraits of three Queens, Sofia of Spain,

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

of England, Noor of Jordan. Also notable is his 1961 portrait of Carmen Cervera. Macarrón died on 14 May 2004 in Riaza,

. He was cremated and has a memorial in Almudena cemetery in Madrid. After Macarróns death, Iturrioz wrote the memoir ''Mi Vida con Ricardo Macarrón'' (2014) about their shared life experiences. His work is found in public museum collections, including the

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (, ; named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum on one of the city ...

, and Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer.

References

1926 births 2004 deaths Painters from Madrid Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni Court painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters {{Spain-painter-stub