José Benlliure

JOSÉ BENLLIURE GIL (Valencia, 1855–1937).
"Witches' Coven."
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 83 x 150 cm; 100 x 167 cm (frame).

This fascinating composition is one of the most unique and evocative works in José Benlliure’s body of work, delving deeply into the world of late Romanticism, Symbolism, and the 19th-century fascination with the esoteric, witchcraft, and the fantastic.
The scene unfolds inside a grotto or cavernous chamber shrouded in twilight. On the right, an elderly man with a long white beard—perhaps a necromancer or a scholar—presides over a table on which stands a steaming cauldron. From it emerges a dazzling spiritual apparition in the form of ethereal, vaporous, and semi-nude female figures who ascend, enveloped in light, toward the upper part of the scene. On the left and in the foreground, a motley crowd of grotesque and spectral figures is gathered: witches with contorted faces, grotesque old women, red-skinned demons, shaggy beings, and hooded figures who are either gazing at the marvel or participating in the ritual. Also notable is the presence of elements from the phantasmagorical imagination, such as the burning cauldron, a large lit oil lamp, and nocturnal creatures (owls and barn owls) perched in the shadows.
The painting is executed with a magnificent mastery of chiaroscuro, influenced by Goya and the Tenebrist school. Benlliure masterfully contrasts the dark, earthy tones of the cavernous setting with two powerful sources of light: the warm glow of the hearth fire on the left and the intense, ethereal, whitish light of the mystical vision in the center, lending an almost theatrical drama to the composition.

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, then continued 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 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.