Joaquín Domínguez Bécquer

JOAQUÍN DOMÍNGUEZ BÉCQUER (Seville, 1817 - 1879).
"Courtyard with characters".
Oil on canvas.
They have frames of the nineteenth century.
Signed in the lower right area.
Measurements: 60 x 80 cm; 84 x 103 cm (frame).

Joaquín Domínguez Bécquer learned the first rudiments of the art of painting from his cousin José, initiator of this outstanding dynasty of painters, and at the same time he was the teacher of his nephew Valeriano Bécquer, Gustavo Adolfo's brother. The young painter then entered the Santa Isabel School of Fine Arts in Seville, an institution of which, over the years, he would become a professor and director, as well as an academician since 1847. He was also a member of the Real Academia Sevillana de las Buenas Letras, one of the founders of the Liceo Artístico of his native city, and was commissioned by Isabel II to direct the pictorial works carried out on the occasion of the restoration of the Reales Alcázares of Seville. He was honorary chamber painter of the queen from 1850, as well as drawing teacher of his nephews. Maximum exponent of the Sevillian costumbrista painting, considered creator of the Sevillian romantic school, he also dedicated himself to portrait and history painting. His style, of great academic correctness derived from a deep knowledge of ancient Spanish painting, was characterized by the scenographic sense of his outdoor paintings, with a rich play of hallmarks that give depth to the works. The relevance of Domínguez Bécquer in the Seville of the mid-19th century allowed him access to the select circle of friends of the Dukes of Montpensier, established in the city of Seville in 1848 and main patrons and promoters of the renewal of the local artistic scene. Especially, during these years genre painting experienced a great development, which spread the romantic myth of Spain with Andalusia as the absolute center of the exotic charm that foreign travelers were looking for in the Peninsula. Domínquez Bécquer participated in this Spanish costumbrismo on numerous occasions. Domínguez Bécquer is represented in the Prado Museum, the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastián, the Romantic Museum in Madrid, the Bonnat Museum in Bayonne, the Fine Arts Museums in Seville and Huelva, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, among others.