Spanish school; 19th century

Spanish school or possibly HORACIO LENGO MARTÍNEZ (Torremolinos, 1838-Madrid, 1890); late nineteenth century.
"Still lifes".
Oil on canvas.
They have frames of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 77 x 48 cm (x2); 94 x 65 cm (frames, x2).
This pair of paintings, corresponding to the 19th century, is an example of the romantic-symbolic still life of the European tradition, characterized by its fusion of naturalistic elements with classicist references and a strong decorative charge. In both the brushstroke is loose but controlled, with special care in the texture of the flowers and the plumage of the birds, which denotes an influence of the academic naturalism of the century. The technique is precise, although softened by glazes and chromatic transitions that give the works an almost dreamlike quality. The range of colors is maintained in soft and harmonious registers, where bluish greens, pinks and golds predominate.
Aesthetically, the works are close to the painting of Horacio Lengo, an outstanding author of nineteenth-century Malaga painting. He was able to respond to the eclectic and decorative taste of the national scene, with a precious and laborious style of painting. In his eagerness to broaden the knowledge acquired in Cadiz with Martinez del Rincon, Lengo returned to Malaga, integrating himself into the cultural environment of Malaga and participating in two exhibitions: National Fine Arts, 1871 and Liceo de Malaga, 1872. But he feels that he needs to advance in the knowledge of painting. To do so, and following the custom of many Spanish painters, Lengo looked outside Spain for the teaching he needed, finding it in Paris and in the studio of the painter Léon Bonnat. After his apprenticeship and once back in Malaga, he resumes his personal and artistic life, participating in the exhibition organized by the City Council on the occasion of the coming of King Alfonso XII to the city. Finally he moved to Madrid with his family, where he dedicated himself to painting, exhibiting and, above all, selling his paintings among the nobility and the high bourgeoisie collectors.