Francisco Pradilla

FRANCISCO PRADILLA ORTIZ (Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza, 1848 - Madrid, 1921).
Untitled.
Watercolor on paper adhered to board.
Presents damages in the frame.
Measurements: 20 x 26 cm; 27 x 33 cm (frame).
Although Francisco Pradilla Ortiz is recognized mainly for his history painting, landscape plays an essential role in his artistic production, both as an autonomous genre and as a structural element of his narrative compositions. In this work, the landscape ceases to be a simple background to become an expressive space that conveys an atmosphere.
The naturalistic treatment, based on direct observation of the environment, is combined with a late romantic sensibility that is manifested in the attention to light, color and atmospheric effects. The brushstroke is loose and nuanced, especially visible in the vegetation and the sky, where Pradilla introduces a greater technical freedom without renouncing the compositional rigor or academic drawing that characterize his training.
This type of studies from life reveals the singularity of his landscape language, situated between the academic tradition and a restrained modernity, and highlights the role of landscape as a field of plastic experimentation.
Francisco Pradilla initially trained as an apprentice with Mariano Pescador and at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Luis in Zaragoza, completing his training at the Escuela de San Fernando in Madrid under the tutelage of Federico de Madrazo and Carlos de Haes. In 1874 he was awarded the Drawing Prize of La Ilustración Española y Americana and a scholarship to study in Rome, where he resided for twenty-three years until his appointment as director of the Prado Museum in 1897.
In 1878 he received the Medal of Honor at both the National Exhibition in Madrid and the Universal Exhibition in Paris, which brought him international recognition and numerous commissions in Europe and America. He traveled extensively throughout Spain, also cultivating costumbrista scenes, and participated in exhibitions held in major international cities. He was director of the Spanish Academy in Rome, a member of leading art academies and received decorations such as the Cross of Isabella the Catholic and the Legion of Honor.