Joaquín Martínez de la Vega

JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ DE LA VEGA (Almería, 1846 - Málaga, 1905).
"Portrait of a gentleman.
Pastel on paper.
Presents faults.
Signed in the lower area.
Measurements: 18 x 15 cm; 40 x 35 cm (frame).
The realism of Martínez de la Vega earned him wide recognition in his time and opened the doors to numerous commissions, such as the portrait that concerns us, where he demonstrates a remarkable ability to capture not only the features, but also the temperament of the character.
Born in Almería and linked to the Malaga school, where he developed his career, Joaquín Martínez de la Vega began to paint when he was only fifteen years old, when he was commissioned to paint several plates for an illustrated album for Isabel II on the initiative of the Diputación de Córdoba. The success of that work earned him a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, in Madrid, under the direction of Federico de Madrazo. On his return to Malaga, he was appointed professor of drawing at the Liceo Academy in 1873 and, in 1882, assistant professor of drawing at the School of Fine Arts. Among his main works are the decoration of the ceiling of the Liceo's Assembly Hall, together with Denis Belgrano (1870), and his participation in official competitions, where he obtained a third class medal at the National Exhibition of Madrid in 1871 and, four years later, the first prize of the City Council of Malaga. Today his work is represented in the Museum of Fine Arts of Malaga, among other public and private collections.