José Villegas Cordero

Self-portrait by José Villegas Cordero (around 1898)

José Villegas Cordero (born August 26, 1844 in Seville , † November 9, 1921 in Madrid ) was a Spanish painter .

Life

José Villegas Cordero, brother of the genre painter Ricardo Villegas Cordero (1849–1896), trained first for two years with the painter José Maria Romero López , then at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Sevilla with Eduardo Cano de la Peña . In 1867 he traveled to Madrid, worked there in Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz's studio , made friends with the painters Eduardo Rosales and Marià Fortuny and copied works by Velázquez in the Museo del Prado , who had a decisive influence on the formation of his style.

After a detour to Morocco , Villegas went to Rome at the end of 1868 and worked there in Eduardo Rosales's workshop. He also painted oriental scenes based on sketches made in Morocco. He stayed in Rome until 1901, but from 1877 onwards he also frequently stayed in Venice . During this time he created numerous history and genre paintings in oil and watercolor .

Awards include the Prussian great gold medal for art at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1894, and in 1895 he was appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin . Depressed by the death of his brother Ricardo, who drowned in a boat accident in the Guadalquivir in 1896 , he also began to paint religious subjects. He was appointed head of the Academia española de Bellas Artes en Roma in 1898.

In 1901 Villegas returned to Madrid, where he became director of the Museo del Prado in the same year , which he held until 1918. During this period he also gained a reputation as a portrait painter . In 1921 he died in the Spanish capital at the age of 77.

Works (selection)

Siesta (1874)

Among Villegas' history paintings, it is worth highlighting:

• Columbus seeks protection in the monastery la Rabida
• Last conversation between Philip II and Don Juan d'Austria
• Discovery of Carmagnola's betrayal
• Condemnation of Doge Marino Falieri
• Triumph of Dogaressa Foscari 1424
• The Doge Foscari after his removal (1884)

Villegas' genre pictures, some of which correspond to the scope of his historical pictures, are z. B .:

• Palm Sunday in Venice
• Baptism in Seville
• Rich and poor (churchyard scene)
• Death of the Master (The End of a Bullfighter, around 1884)
• Contrast (street scene)
• The explanation of the Koran
• Granting absolution to Cardinal
• Procession in Venice
• In the monastery consulting room
• Audience hour of the State Secretary
• The Cardinal Grand Penitentiary

Other genre paintings by Villegas depict views of Venice, Capri , Seville and other cities. His last work was the cycle of paintings El Decálogo ( The Ten Commandments ).

literature

• Villegas, José . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 6th edition, 1902-08, Vol. 20, p. 168.

Web links

Commons : José Villegas Cordero  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by José Villegas y Cordero on artnet