Francisco Pradilla

FRANCISCO PRADILLA ORTIZ (Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza, 1848 - Madrid, 1921).
"The entrance".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 18 x 12 cm; 29 x 22 cm (frame).

Francisco Pradilla begins his formation as apprentice of Mariano Pescador, painter scenographer, and in the School of Fine Arts of San Luis de Zaragoza. In 1868 he continued his studies at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid, where he was a disciple of Federico de Madrazo, Carlos de Haes, Carlos Luis de Ribera and Ponciano Ponzano. He completed his training in these years by copying works of the great masters of the Prado Museum. In 1874 he won the Drawing Prize of the "Spanish and American Enlightenment", and obtained a scholarship to study in Rome, where he lived for twenty-three years, until his appointment as director of the Prado in 1897. In 1878, he took part in the National Exhibition in Madrid and won the Medal of Honor, the same distinction he won that same year at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. As a result of these successes he received numerous commissions not only from Spain and France, but also from America and other European countries. He travels around Spain and is interested in capturing scenes full of grace and color, always supported by an exceptional mastery of drawing, although he did not have solo exhibitions, his works were part of exhibitions and competitions in cities around the world, such as London, Paris, Berlin, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. He was director of the Spanish Academy in Rome, and a member of the Royal Academies of San Fernando and San Luis, the French Academy and the Hispanic Society of New York. He was awarded, among other decorations, the Cross of Isabella the Catholic and the Legion of Honor.of the pictorial genres he cultivated, including graphic illustration for literary publications, we must highlight the history painting, which was the one that brought him more fame. As a portrait painter, his activity was more restricted and his results were uneven when he had to deal with effigies of deceased people, but in front of living models he achieved portraits of serene expressiveness and studied and intoned workmanship. He also dedicated himself to genre painting, either of Italian popular inspiration or of matters of Madrid customs or of Galicia, his wife's place of origin and where he used to spend some seasons. Both in the history paintings and in these, Pradilla shows a clear inclination for outdoor settings, organizing the compositions in wide panoramic perspectives with a multitude of figures and motifs, interpreted with a very refined technique. However, the most outstanding aspect of his language is the sense of light and atmosphere, under which the tight drawing is softened and blended with the luminous background through small brushstrokes of a color rich in nuances and paste.Francisco Pradilla's work is present in the Prado Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Havana and Sao Paulo, the MACBA in Barcelona, the Christchurch Art Gallery in New Zealand and the Romantic Museum in Madrid, among others.