Mariano Benlliure

MARIANO BENLLIURE GIL (Valencia, 1862 – Madrid, 1947).
“Children Playing.”
Bronze.
Signed.
Measurements: 61 cm (height including base).

At the age of thirteen, Mariano Benlliure presented his first work at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. Initially, however, he devoted himself primarily to painting, a discipline he continued to cultivate in Paris under the guidance of his mentor, Domingo Marqués. In 1879, he moved to Rome, where, fascinated by Michelangelo, he set aside his paintbrushes to devote himself exclusively to sculpture. In 1887, he settled permanently in Madrid, where he won first prize at the National Exhibition that same year. In 1895, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his sculpture of the poet Trueba, installed in Bilbao. He also held distinguished foreign honors, such as the French Legion of Honor and the special medal from Emperor Franz Joseph. Mariano Benlliure has a museum named after him in Valencia, and his works are represented in the San Pío V Museum of Fine Arts in that same city, the Prado Museum and the Army Museum in Madrid, the Museum of Fine Arts in Murcia, and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago, Chile, among many other public and private collections around the world.