Casto Plasencia

CASTO PLASENCIA Y MAESTRO (Cañizar, Guadalajara, 1846 - Madrid, 1890).
"Venerating the figure of Christ".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 20 x 17 cm.

Painter from Alcarria of the XIX century, Casto Plasencia approached a wide range of subjects, including the historical painting, the portrait, the allegory, the costumbrismo, the feminine nude, the decorative painting and the mural, although in his maturity he will evolve towards the painting of the natural one, arriving to create the artistic colony of Walls, dedicated to the plenairista landscape painting. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, where he also obtained a pension to further his studies in Rome. In 1878 he obtained his first important success, the first medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid for "Origen de la República romana". That same year he was awarded the third medal and the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for the same work. Settled in Madrid, Plasencia became the portraitist of the kings Alfonso XII and Maria de las Mercedes, work that he combined with his activity as a painter of religious and decorative themes. He was a founding member and president of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, and as a result of his first visit to Muros del Nalón in 1884, he began to develop a new interest in landscape painting. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Museum of Zaragoza, the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, the Diputación de Alicante, the Capitanía General and the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville and in other collections, both public and private.