Attributed to Benito Espinós

Attributed to BENITO ESPINÓS (Valencia, 1748-1818).
"Still life vase", c. 1800.
Oil on copper.
It has a Carlos IV style frame.
Presents label of the Board of Seizure and protection and safekeeping of the artistic treasure with provenance (Fernán Núñez) and label with the inscription "Marquesa de Villalorcas".
Measurements. 60 x 29 cm; 75 x 43 cm (frame).
Delicate and exuberant painting, attributed to the Valencian master Benito Espinós, it is inscribed within the genre of the floral still life that reached great height in the Spanish painting of the XVIII century, especially in the Levantine scope. Espinós, heir to an artistic tradition centered on naturalism and decorative refinement, was one of the main exponents of this specialty, developing his work between rococo sensibility and the beginnings of neoclassicism.
The canvas shows a floral bouquet carefully arranged in a dark vase, placed on a table decorated with moldings. The composition, of vertical format and pyramidal structure, stands out for its botanical precision and technical mastery. A rich variety of flowers - roses, carnations, anemones, daisies, jasmines, among others - are displayed with apparent spontaneity but with rigorous compositional intention, combining volumes, colors and textures with great visual balance.
Each flower is treated with a meticulous detail that denotes not only pictorial skill, but also a profound knowledge of the plant world, as was common in eighteenth-century flower painting.
Espinós began his artistic education at the hand of his father and later at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia. After his training he moved several times to Madrid, where he gave several of his works to the monarch Charles IV, all of them with floral themes. In 1784 he began to work as director of the School of Flowers and Ornaments. In 1814 he suffered a stroke so that his hand became useless for painting, so he finished his career as a painter, although he continued with his teaching work. His work was inserted in the aesthetic standards of the time, especially dedicated to the genre of flowers, which was not one of the most popular themes but thanks to his mastery, content control and taste as a painter managed to elevate. Currently his works are in numerous collections of great aesthetic relevance such as the royal palaces of Madrid, the National Library, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia San Pío V and the Prado Museum.