Antonio Muñoz Degraín

ANTONIO MUÑOZ DEGRAÍN (Valencia, 1840 - Málaga, 1924).
"The Styx Lagoon", 1899.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 85 x 130 cm; 123 x 169 cm (frame).
We are in front of one of the themes where Muñoz Degraín's fantasy is very clear. Mythological, oriental type painting dated 1899. The Styx Lagoon, linked to the mythological hell, is linked to the river of the same name, whose source is on the Greek mountain of Zelmos. The Greek name of the Styx, "Styx", means horror, abomination, and it seems that its waters possessed a magical virtue and gave immortality, Achilles himself obtained his immortality when his mother, Thetis, bathed him in the waters mentioned, but the general idea, after Homedo, is that the waters of the Styx were a barrier that closed the way to the infernal regions. Muños Degraín reflects in this canvas all his fears of hell and the purification of sin; the waters of the Styx are in some way a prelude to the purifying waters of the River Jordan. The whole work maintains a great expressive force, especially in the brushstrokes where we can see very constructive characters. The bluish and dark tones, used in the mountain areas and the waters of the lagoon in which virtuoso touches of orange tones appear, stand out.
Antonio Muñoz Degraín began studying architecture in his youth by his father's decision, although he soon abandoned it for painting. A student at the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia from the age of twelve, he was a pupil of the painter Rafael Montesinos, although his training was essentially self-taught. He took part assiduously in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts from 1862 to 1915, and it was his successes in these competitions that would have a decisive influence on his artistic career. In 1862 he was awarded an honorary medal, third in 1864 and second in 1867 and 1871. In 1870 he was asked to decorate the Cervantes Theatre in Malaga and settled in the Andalusian capital for good. He married there and years later was appointed supernumerary professor at the San Telmo Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1879). At the Academy Muñoz Degraín taught a whole generation of artists, including the very young Picasso, who always showed him affection and respect. In 1881 the painter won a first medal at the National Competition with "Othello and Desdemona" (Museu do Chiado, Lisbon), which gave him a government pension to finally make his longed-for trip to Rome, also visiting several cities in Tuscany and Venice. In Italy he produced his great masterpiece, "The Lovers of Teruel" (Museo del Prado), one of the masterpieces of 19th-century Spanish painting, which he sent to the National Exhibition in Madrid in 1884, winning the first medal. From then on, his growing prestige brought him numerous honours and public rewards. He was made a Knight of the orders of Isabella the Catholic, Charles III and Alfonso XII, received the medal of honour at the National Exhibition of 1910 and in 1898, on the death of Carlos de Haes, was awarded the chair of landscape painting at the San Fernando Academy in Madrid. He was appointed a member of that institution the following year and its director in 1901. He was also president of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Muñoz Degraín also enjoyed notable success abroad, presenting his paintings at the Universal Exhibitions of Philadelphia (1876), Munich (1883) and Chicago (1893). He is currently represented in the Museo del Prado, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia and others.