RICO Y ORTEGA, Martín

(b. 1833 El Escorial, d. 1908 Venezia)

Spanish painter. He was a friend of the French landscape painter Charles-Francois Daubigny and was one of the first Spanish artists to paint his subjects in situ. He worked with his brother Bernardo Rico y Ortega (1825-1894), a copperplate engraver. He studied at the San Fernando Academy of Art in Madrid. He was successful at the exhibitions in Madrid.

In 1872, accompanied by Mariano Fortuny, he toured Italy, where he became impressed by the splendour of Venice, and he captured the architecture and light in innumerable paintings. From 1879, by which time he had made Paris his permanent home, he spent his summers in Venice, renting a palazzo in which to paint. He would often work sitting in a gondola, sketching buildings and bridges as seen from the water.

He received medals at the World Fair in Paris in 1878 and 1888.

Rio Maria, Venice

In 1872, accompanied by Mariano Fortuny, Rico toured Italy. He was enchanted by the splendour of Venice, whose sites, waters and light he captured in innumerable paintings. From 1879, by which time he had made Paris his permanent home, he spent his summers in Venice, renting a palazzo in which to paint. He would often work sitting in a gondola, sketching buildings and bridges as seen from the water.

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View of Venice

Rico captured the essence of Venice not through exaggeration, but with warm depictions of its unique locales. His bright, luminous works were often painted while he traveled the city’s waterways by gondola, selecting the best views from a waterborne perspective. Since in the nineteenth century Venice was a cultural destination for almost all international tourists and artists alike, Rico’s work proved as successful commercially as artistically.

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