THE MADRAZO, A FAMILY OF FAMOUS REALIST PAINTERS FROM THE 19th CENTURY

I love Federico and Raimundo de Madrazo art, they belonged to an artist and very talented family of painters, teachers, architects, critics and museum directors. Its members included some of the most important artists in the 19th century in Spain. And today I felt like writing a post about them to share with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (1815 – 1894)

He was born in Rome, he was the son of the painter Madrazo y Agudo, who was the Court painter, director of the Royal Academy of San Fernando and the King's Gallery (subsequently the Prado Museum). He was the most sought-after Spanish painter of the second third of the 19th century, and had an unrivalled reputation both in Spain and abroad. This was thanks to his family background, his social situation, and above all to his early artistic training by his father. He was the brother of Pedro de Madrazo, a celebrated man of letters, critic and author of several of the first catalogues in the Prado Museum. Another of his brothers, Juan, was the architect who planned the restoration of León Cathedral. His brother, Don Luis de Madrazo, was also known as a painter, chiefly by his Burial of Saint Cecilia (1855).

While still attending the classes at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, he painted his first picture, The Resurrection of Christ (1829), which was purchased by Queen Christina.

While decorating the palace of Vista Alegre he took up portraiture. In 1852 he went to Paris, where he studied under Franz Winterhalter, and painted portraits of Baron Taylor and Ingres. In 1837 he was commissioned to produce a picture for the gallery at Versailles, and painted "Godfrey de Bouillon proclaimed King of Jerusalem". The artist then went to Rome, where he worked at various subjects, sacred and profane. Then he painted Maria Christina in the Dress of a Nun by the Bedside of Ferdinand III (1843), Queen Isabella, The Duchess of Medina-Coeli, and The Countess de Vilches (1845-1847), besides a number of portraits of the Spanish aristocracy, some of which were sent to the exhibition of 1855.

He received the Legion of Honour in 1846. He was made a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts in 1853 and in 1873, on the death of Schnorr, the painter, he was chosen foreign member. After his father's death he succeeded him as director of the Museo del Prado and president of the Academy of San Fernando. He originated in Spain the production of art reviews and journals. He died at Madrid in 1894.

And here you are some of his paintings:

Federico's best-known pupil was his son, Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta.

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta (1841 - 1920)

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta was born in Rome in 1841 in a family of famous painters, later he became a brother-in-law of one of the most important painters of the 19th century Spain, Mariano Fortuny. This solid basis allowed him to turn into one of the bulwarks of the so-called bourgeois realism which development acquired the central and determining role. His first studies in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid and his later studies in Paris with Leon Coignet brought severe but correct academic touches into his early works.

A traveler and a cosmopolite with good connections with professionals, he never sent a single work to the national exhibitions, but together with Giuseppe de Nittis, his Belgian friend Alfred Stevens, and a gallery keeper George Petit he staged the International Exhibition of Painting which aim was to promote the foreign art in the real artistic capital of the fin de siècle: Paris.

After the first attempts in the academic style he turned to the more decorative and fresh painting continuing in a certain sense his brother-in-law Fortuny’s tradition with the refined realism transferred to the canvas through a subtle and elaborate colour spectrum that reached the heights of mastery in the works inspired by his model and lover Aline Masson, combining tender feelings and the primacy of the execution. He was notable for the portraits, making this genre one of his favorite ones; it was not in vain that his father was a great portrait painter who taught Raimundo, and the latter added a personal touch to the elegant French portrait of the Second Imperium that, in the long run, had its roots in the English portrait painting of the previous century.

The influence of the Rococo and of Japanese art is reflected in his painting, which expresses an exquisite aristocratic or bourgeois ideal, the illusion of a refined, sensual and superficial life. Consequently, his works are also described as representing the 'Parisian seraglio'. American collectors paid high prices for his paintings. The Museo del Prado has a good number of his paintings.

And here you are some of his paintings too:

Sources:
http://www.spainisculture.com/
www.answers.com
http://www.josedelamano.com/
en.wikipedia.org

ELENA ARZAK NAMED BEST FEMALE CHEF IN THE WORLD

Women are reclaiming the kitchen. The fine dining industry, like most other industries is very male-dominated. But thankfully, many female chefs are beating their male counterparts at Top Chef to being awarded Michelin stars for their exceptional culinary skills.

Each year in mid to late April, S. Pellegrino announces the World's 50 Best Restaurants, at least in their opinion. Last year in advance of the restaurant awards they announced a brand new award: The Veuve Clicquot Best Female Chef, celebrating “the work of an exceptional female chef whose cooking excites the toughest of critics” — which was given to French chef Anne-Sophie Pic.

While we aren't entirely sure why there is a need for Best Female Chef versus just Best Chef, once again in advance of the main awards which take place on April 30th, the 2012 Best Female Chef award goes to Spanish chef Elena Arzak.



As her surname alludes to, Elena Arzak is the daughter of Juan Mari Arzak (also known as the father of New Basque Cuisine), who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s World's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony. And, this year she will step on the same stage to accept the award for the Best Female Chef.

The father-daughter duo share chef duties at the acclaimed Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, where they work in a kitchen that is a perfect mix of contemporary and classic. The restaurant, which was ranked N.8 on last year's best list, holds three Michelin stars and Elena is the fourth generation of the Arzak family to head up the restaurant since it opened in 1897.

She trained in Switzerland and cooked at some fairly reputable spots — Maison Troisgros, Bras and Pierre Gagnaire, Carré des Feuillants and Le Vivarois in France, Louis XV in Monte-Carlo, Antica Ostería del Ponte in Italy, Le Gavroche in London and Adrià at El Bulli — before returning to the family business.

In a statement Elena Arzak said of the news: “It really humbles me and has come as such a surprise. I am happy for Arzak, the restaurant, my father and my family…4 generations! I remember when my grandmother was cooking and how much of an inspiration she was. With this title, I think of her even more.”

Congratulations Elena!

Source:
cookingdistrict.com
luxpresso.com

JOHN BAGNOLD BURGESS AND OTHER VICTORIAN BRITISH PAINTERS OF SPAIN

Before the Revolutionary War, Spain had little attraction for foreign travelers. After the war, Spain began to acquire an aura of exoticism and extravagance which attracted a good number of onlookers, mostly French and English. The Moorish Andalusia, the guerrilla fighter, the obscurantist Church, the generous bandit, the handsome bullfighter, the lady with mantilla, the barefoot children, the beggar full of rags ... They wanted to see a different country, and when they did not see it they just invented.

A score of several English painters, John Bagnold Burgess, Edwin Long, Robert Kemm and Trevor Haddon, among others, disclosed aspects of the most typical clichés about Spain, as could it be otherwise, Andalusia concerning a land that "admired and despised" but acting on their retina "as a powerful magnet."

John Bagnold Burgess: Born in Chelsea (1829-1897). He was an English artist known for his paintings of historical and genre scenes, mainly in Spain. John came from a family of remarkable painters: his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather and a couple of uncles.

Burgess started his career by painting portraits and genre works, before travelling to Spain in 1858, accompanied by his friend and fellow artist Edwin Long - who would become his travelling companion on future painting trips to the country. For the next thirty years, Burgess was an annual visitor to Spain, often spending days with Spanish peasants, living their life and sharing their food. He also went to Morocco at least once.

Burgess's first great success was his "Bravo Toro" in 1865, followed by "Stolen by Gypsies", "Kissing Relics in Spain" , "The Barber's Prodigy" and "Licensing Beggars in Spain" . In 1877, Burgess was elected an associate of the Royal Academy. He died from the congenital heart disease which had troubled him all his life, and was buried in the Paddington Cemetery at Willesden.

Edwin Long: Born in Bath, Somerset (1829-1891). Long was an English genre, history, biblical and portrait painter. Long made the acquaintance of John Phillip and accompanied him to Spain, where they spent much time. Long was greatly influenced by the paintings of Velázquez and other Spanish masters.

Robert Kemm: Born in London (1827-1895). He traveled to Spain, especially Andalusia, seeking inspiration in landscapes and genre scenes. Embodied on canvas delicious figures of fighters, bandits, beggars, guitar and various celebrities. Many of his works reflect the atmosphere of the city of Seville.

Trevor Haddon: Born in Greater London (1864-1941). Haddon was a painter and watercolourist of the Italian and Spanish landscape and country genre. Travelled extensively in North and South America, including Venezuela, between 1921 and 1930. Author of The Old Venetian Palaces, Southern Spain and other works. Lived mainly in London and latterly, in Cambridge, where he died, aged 77.