José Benlliure

JOSÉ BENLLIURE GIL (Valencia, 1855–1937).
"Fantasia," Rome.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 73 x 100 cm; 108 x 132 cm (frame).

Although José Benlliure is widely celebrated for his Valencian genre paintings and religious themes, in his studio on Via Margutta in Rome he produced an astonishing series of fantastical works, covens, and phantasmagorias (such as his famous *The Vision of the Colosseum* from 1885 or scenes depicting superstition and the underworld).

The composition depicts a chaotic mass of souls, skeletons, monsters, figures veiled in white, and frantic characters swept up in a nocturnal maelstrom. In the upper center of the work, enveloped in a halo of incandescent, reddish light, stands the figure of a winged demon playing the violin (a reference to the mythological “Devil’s Trill” or the infernal music that guides the damned or tempts souls). On the left, a female figure dressed in ghostly white stands out as she is carried or dragged along by the sinister crowd, while on the right, the shadows of skeletons and the damned can be seen in poses of supplication or hysteria.

The brother of painter Juan Antonio and sculptor Mariano, José Benlliure focused on genre scenes and portraiture. He began his artistic studies under Francisco Domingo in Valencia, later continuing his training in Madrid, where he settled in 1869. In 1879, he moved to Rome, where he served as director of the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts from 1903 to 1913. In 1897, he traveled to Tangier, Algeria, and Morocco, where he produced brighter, freer works influenced by Impressionism. Beginning in 1900, his work depicted popular themes. He was an honest and sensitive painter, and his works on popular themes—such as the one presented here, with scenes rendered in a direct and spontaneous manner—were particularly notable. He participated in the National Fine Arts Exhibitions, winning third-place medals in the 1876 and 1878 editions and first place in the 1887 edition. He was a member of the Academies of San Fernando (Madrid), San Lucas (Rome), San Carlos (Valencia), Brera (Milan), and Munich. The most significant part of his body of work is preserved in Valencia, at his House-Museum and at the San Pío V Museum of Fine Arts. His works are also represented at the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and the Palace of Charles V in Granada, among others.