Characters, portraits and nature in the Museum of Fine Arts 📷 Malaga - Spain

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Painting, sculpture and art in general are the expression of artists, of reality, customs and of a passage through history.

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In my tour through this second part of the great and beautiful Museum where art is present, the faces, the great characters and, of course, the natural were the highlights.

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I am always amazed by the inner courtyard of this place.

In addition, at the reception I was told that a concert is held there once a month, totally free of charge. I really loved that.

All expressions of art in one place, which as I said several times is immense.

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In this part, I came across a room where a short video was shown about the origin of the Museum in its artistic side, pointing out that it has its origins in cultural meetings throughout history. Most of the productions represent works from the 19th century.

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Many of the works, a product of that era, have a religious style, which has expanded greatly over time. For example, one can see a painting depicting St. Francis of Padua.

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In other cases the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The influence of the Catholic Church is strong in all the works.

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The carved silver crosses with different figures attached to them are something that appears again and again during the tour.

As I mentioned previously in another of my publications, this large area destined to the fine arts, is divided into multiple zones in turn, marking different periods in history and also various styles.

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In this case and this zone, reference is made to the city's school of painting, which had been very successful.

It all began with modest masters of painting, for example from Seville. At the end of the 19th century the Valencian Bernardo Ferrándiz y Badenes, who had a long career in art and a very peculiar personality, settled in the city.

He later reformed everything related to the studies at the School and encouraged the integration of many other teachers.

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This made this whole project acquire a high national level, with a lot of professionalism and prestige.

In this part of history and at this level of painting, what stood out most was historical painting, as can be seen in the various paintings on display here.

Also present are everyday and social motifs and above all portraits.

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Bernardo Ferrándiz y Badenes was a painter who played a decisive role in the development of painting in Malaga. He trained in Valencia and Madrid, being influenced by friends who were also painters.

He had a precious technique and was one of the best teachers of his time. For this reason, when he settled in this city he became the most outstanding master.

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Admiring the works on display here was a real pleasure, his technique and detail is astonishing.

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The bust on display is of great detail and the face can be appreciated perfectly.

It was very interesting to find during my tour different signs explaining the historical moments and styles.

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During the middle of the 19th century the artistic style of the whole of Spain had its origin in Madrid, through the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

There was a great mixture of styles, detail predominated, colour and balance. You can see it in each of the works I have observed.

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But there is a common factor in the paintings and that is the tendency to paint portraits, because that was the predilection of the bourgeoisie. The social aspect was very important.

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Paintings of everyday life, meetings, customs complemented the scene.

The colours stand out, the brushstrokes and the large number of detailed sketches.

Another painter mentioned in the exhibition and of great importance was José Denis Belgrano, with a very personal style where colour and the anecdotal had their presence.

He painted many portraits, but also genre landscapes, Andalusian life, bullfights and was a pupil of Ferrándiz.

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Another great painter mentioned in the itinerary is Joaquín Martínez de la Vega Cisneros. He was a recognised artist of great artistic quality and entered the San Telmo School of Fine Arts as a teacher and seemed to have a splendid future.

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The death of his wife and daughter caused his life to change dramatically. Darkness and bohemian life to the point of destitution surrounded him.

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Antonio Muñoz Degrain was another Valencian who settled in Malaga at that time.

He is best known for the fact that in 1870 he was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Cervantes Theatre.

The whole city provided the atmosphere for the painter's inspiration, above all because of its beautiful landscapes. He had a great professional career.

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His works include many portraits of important personalities, landscapes and works on customs. He became one of the most important painters in the city.

He was friends with many artists of that time and had a very close relationship with all of them.

He has been an example of great artistic activity in different genres of painting, not only in Spain but also in other countries such as Italy, France and England.

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He introduced literature and narrative, mystery, myths and much more into painting.

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His landscape paintings went through many styles and colours, with firm and broad brushstrokes, bright colours and other pastels.

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This is one of my favourite paintings from this part of my tour where he depicts a landscape of rocks and a stream, and the reflections are a marvel.

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In a section of the tour I came across some sculptures.

What was sought after in the making of the busts and portraits was not so much the detail of the physicality of the person but rather a demonstration of a social style.

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In another corner I found what represents the place or studio where the painters of the time made their art and all that it contained. It was a journey back in time, as if I could see one of them making a great work.

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The last artist of this section is dedicated to Moreno Carbonero, with great recognition and prestige.

He was a student at the School of Art and one of the most gifted artists. A person with a great natural talent for drawing, for which he was highly appreciated at his core.

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His technique was marvellous and he received many prizes and commissions. He was very successful throughout his life and was commissioned to paint the basilica of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid.

He also excelled in portraits and illustrations such as those of Don Quixote.

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The realism with which he painted denoted his great natural ability which, together with a great apprenticeship, made him an artist of excellence.

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In this part of my journey I was amazed by many works like the one I mentioned before, but those of this last artist were the ones that pleased me the most.

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Thank you for joining me in this section of the Museum of Fine Arts. It is a pleasure to bring all these impressive works of art to you.

Best regards and see you next time.
Amonet.

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_{All photographs are my own.
Separators and miniature design created by me in Photoshop.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
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