Fernando Álvarez Sotomayor

FERNANDO ÁLVAREZ DE SOTOMAYOR (Ferrol, La Coruña, 1875 - Madrid, 1960).
"Female portrait.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 95 x 68 cm.
The work presents a half-length female portrait in a natural environment, treated with a pictorial language typical of the first half of the twentieth century. The figure appears seated, slightly turned to the right, while looking at the viewer with a serene and restrained expression. Her skin, modeled with delicate gradations of light, contrasts with the light and airy dress that accentuates the softness of her posture.
The background combines a luminous sky, with loose brushstrokes and light tones, with an area of shaded vegetation that frames the head of the sitter, creating a balance between light and shadow. The artist uses a sure stroke, especially visible in the arms and in the treatment of the landscape, where the impasto and the directions of the brush generate an almost lyrical atmosphere.
Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor studied high school at the Royal Augustinian College of El Escorial, then tried to follow several careers to finally devote himself to painting. He began his artistic training as a disciple of Manuel Domínguez, with whom he collaborated in the decoration of the staircase and an office of the Ministry of Agriculture in Madrid. In 1899 he obtained a scholarship to further his studies at the Spanish Academy in Rome, where he became thoroughly acquainted with the Renaissance and Baroque painting of the Florentine, Roman and Venetian schools. Later he traveled to Holland, where he discovered the painting of Frans Hals, whose strong colors and impasto brushstrokes would mark his later works. In 1904 he won the second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, and the first medal two years later, in 1906. In 1908 he moved to Santiago de Chile to teach at the Chilean School of Fine Arts. He was director of that institution in 1911, and around his figure arose the so-called "Generation of 1913" or "Generation Sotomayor". During these years he continued to send works to official European exhibitions, being awarded a bronze medal in Liège and a gold medal in Munich in 1909. He was also awarded prizes at the International Exhibitions of Barcelona in 1907 and Buenos Aires in 1910, and was decorated at the National Exhibition of Madrid in 1912. He returned to Spain in 1918, after being appointed deputy director of the Prado Museum. Between 1921/22 and until the advent of the Republic he would hold the position of director of that institution, recovering it after the Civil War. In 1922 he was appointed member of the Royal Academy of San Fernando, and in 1929 he was given a separate room at the International Exhibition in Barcelona. He was also the chamber painter of King Alfonso XIII during the last years of his reign. After the war Sotomayor was awarded the Juan March Prize (1956), and after his death important tributes were paid to him, such as the retrospective exhibition held at the Palacio de Velázquez del Retiro on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Sotomayor is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía National Art Center, and other leading Spanish, European and American museums.