Julio Peris Brell

JULIO PERIS BRELL (Valencia, 1866-1944)."Untitled", 1944.Oil on canvas.Signed and dated in the lower right corner.Measurements: 36 x 44 cm; 57,5 x 65 cm (frame).Julio Peris Brell was a painter specialised in landscape, portrait and still life, with a language especially sensitive to changes in light. He began his studies in Fine Arts in 1876 and in 1882 was appointed secretary of the section of painter-members of the Ateneu Científic, Literari i Artístic de Valencia (Scientific, Literary and Artistic Athenaeum of Valencia). He completed his training two years later, and decided to devote himself exclusively to painting, without teaching. In 1886 he was made a full member of the Ateneu, and four years later he presented his first important work, "La fe del baptisme", at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid. There he met the brothers Ricardo and Pío Baroja, with whom he would strike up a lasting friendship. After the creation of the Cercle de Belles Arts de Valencia in 1894, he took an active part in its activities, especially in its group exhibitions. At the same time, he devoted himself to producing works which, in these last years of the 19th century, were aimed at the Catalan market. However, he also presented his painting outside our borders: in 1897 he took part in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Mexico and, already in Spain but outside Catalonia and the Valencian Community, he took part in the exhibitions organised by the Academy of Fine Arts of Cadiz, as well as in those of Fine Arts in Murcia. At the same time, he continued to rise through the ranks of the Cercle de Belles Arts in Valencia, and carried out projects such as the decoration of the staircase of the palace of José Ayora. In 1911 he expanded his activity and began to collaborate as a draughtsman with the magazine "Letras y Figuras". In 1912 he joined the new Círculo de Bellas Artes, where in 1914 he was appointed president of the painting section. His success and prestige grew, and in 1923 an entire room was dedicated to him in the exhibition "Manifestación del arte valenciano" held at the Palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid. Two years later he took part in an important group exhibition of Spanish art held in Buenos Aires. On the other hand, from 1926 onwards he exhibited regularly at the Sala Emporium in Valencia, and in 1928 he was appointed a member of the San Carlos Academy. His successive successes continued and in 1943, a year before his death, the Prat gallery dedicated an important anthological exhibition to him. Peris Brell is currently represented in the Valencia Museum of Fine Arts, as well as in other public and private collections.