Gabriel Morcillo Raya

GABRIEL MORCILLO RAYA (Granada, 1887 - 1973).
"Bacchus".
Pencil and ink on paper
Signed and dedicated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 15 x 12 cm, 31 x 25,5 cm (frame).
Gabriel Morcillo began his artistic training with his aunt Paquita Raya, while attending classes at the School of Industrial Arts in Granada. In 1907 he moved to Madrid to become a disciple of Cecilio Pla, but had to return to his hometown due to lack of resources. Finally, he will return to the capital thanks to a scholarship from the Diputación de Granada, remaining there from 1910 to 1914. In Madrid he visited the Prado Museum, where he made copies of Goya and Velázquez. During these years he also participated in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts held in Madrid, being awarded an honorable mention in 1912. Gabriel Morcillo developed a regionalist style, and from 1922 he showed a preference for orientalist themes. That same year he was appointed director of the Residence for Painters of the Alhambra, and in 1925 he became a full member of the Royal Academies of Fine Arts of Granada, Madrid and Malaga. He also showed his work abroad, obtaining success in New York, Buenos Aires and Venice, among other cities. In his maturity he combined his artistic practice with teaching, which he did at the School of Arts and Crafts in Granada. Between 1955 and 1960 he worked in Madrid, painting portraits of Francisco Franco and his wife, as well as Admiral Carrero Blanco and other personalities of the Madrid bourgeoisie of the time. In 1987, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, an important anthological exhibition was dedicated to him in Granada. Today he is represented in the Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada, the Museo del Prado (his work is on deposit at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada), the Diputación de Granada and other collections, both public and private.