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FORTUNY Y MARSAL, Mariano - b. 1838 Reus, d. 1874 Roma - WGA

FORTUNY Y MARSAL, Mariano

(b. 1838 Reus, d. 1874 Roma)

Spanish (Catalan) painter and etcher. (His name in Catalan is Marià Fortuny i Marsal.) He is one of the notable artists of the Spanish school of the 19th century. He was not only an accomplished painter, but also a very good engraver and designer.

His work drew both on earlier Spanish art, especially the paintings and etchings of Goya, and on contemporary foreign works, notably the paintings of the Italian Macchiaioli and those of the French artist Ernest Meissonier. Following a stay in Morocco in 1860, his topics evolve towards Orientalist subjects.

At the Vicarage
At the Vicarage by

At the Vicarage

Fortuny espoused the Meissonier tradition of small-format genre pictures. His brushwork was more relaxed, and he aimed at a lightness of subject matter, rather than the evocative heaviness of the Spanish tradition. His technique was virtuoso, and he took delight in anecdotal detail. Fortuny’s paintings, splendid in colour and rich in light effects, were particularly successful in France in the 1870s.

In Spain, one of those who promoted Fortuny was Frederico de Madrazo (1815-1894), whose daughter Cecilia Fortuny married. It was during preparations for the wedding in 1870 that Fortuny had the idea for At the Vicarage, one of his most famous pictures.

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Fortuny's Garden
Fortuny's Garden by

Fortuny's Garden

Fortuny espoused the Meissonier tradition of small-format genre pictures. His brushwork was more relaxed, and he aimed at a lightness of subject matter, rather than the evocative heaviness of the Spanish tradition. His technique was virtuoso, and he took delight in anecdotal detail. Fortuny’s paintings, splendid in colour and rich in light effects, were particularly successful in France in the 1870s.

Fascinated by light, Fortuny painted scenes of Seville, Portici and Granada - genre pictures, nudes, portraits and landscapes of an extraordinary luminous brilliance.

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Nude on the Beach at Portici
Nude on the Beach at Portici by

Nude on the Beach at Portici

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The Artist's Children in the Japanese Salon
The Artist's Children in the Japanese Salon by

The Artist's Children in the Japanese Salon

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