Fernando Brambila, or Ferdinando Brambilla, (12 July 1763 – 23 January 1834) was an Italian painter and engraver who spent most of his life in Spain, where he worked for the Royal Court. He is best known for his participation in the
Malaspina Expedition
The Malaspina Expedition (1789–1794) was a five-year maritime scientific exploration commanded by Alessandro Malaspina and José de Bustamante y Guerra. Although the expedition receives its name from Malaspina, he always insisted on giving Busta ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Cassano d'Adda
Cassano d'Adda (Milanese: ; Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the Metropolitan City of Milan and the province of Ber ...
. He decided to become an artist at an early age and worked as a painter in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, where he studied with
Giocondo Albertolli
Giocondo Albertolli (24 July 1743 – 15 November 1839) was a Swiss-born architect, painter, and sculptor who was active in Italy during the Neoclassical period.
Biography
Albertolli was born into a family of artists in Bedano, a village 7 ...
at the
Brera Academy
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...
.
["Ferdinando Brambilla from Cassano, a painter in Antarctica"](_blank)
@ Io Prima di Me. His early style was heavily influenced by the French painter
Claude Joseph Vernet
Claude-Joseph Vernet (14 August 17143 December 1789) was a French painter. His son, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, was also a painter.
Life and work
Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet ...
.
In 1790, he was working as a set designer and scenery painter at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
when
Francesco Melzi d'Eril and Count , on behalf of the Spanish government, proposed that he be added to the Malaspina Expedition as one of the official artists.
Biographical notes
@ the Alexandro Malaspina Research Center. He was hired, together with Giovanni Ravenet, a painter from Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, to replace artists who had resigned.["Fernando Brambila, Court painter to Charles IV"](_blank)
by Emilio Soler Pascual @ Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
In April 1791, he began his journey to join the expedition. After making his way to La Coruña
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
, he boarded the frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
''El Cortés'', headed for America. He met with the expedition at Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
, where he executed his first paintings. The naturalist Antonio Pineda
Antonio Pineda (January 17, 1751 – June 23, 1792) was a Spanish naturalist and military officer. He participated in the Malaspina Expedition as leader of the natural history team which included Thaddäus Haenke and Luis Née. His scientific e ...
later claimed that Brambila also travelled about to paint Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
antiquities, but these works have not been found.
He was stationed aboard the corvette ''Atrevida
Wilma Cosmé (born 16 January 1966, in San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known by her stage name Sa-Fire, is a Puerto Rican singer. Sa-Fire is one of the few freestyle singers to cross over into the pop world. She has been featured in various mag ...
''. His paintings included numerous panoramic views with the precise details of defensive systems, monuments etc.; from Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, the Mariana Islands, Palapa
Palapa is a series of Communications satellites owned by Indosat, an Indonesian telecommunications company (formerly by Perumtel and then by PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia/Satelindo). Starting with the first in July 1976, at which time Indon ...
, Sorsogon City and Zamboanga in the Philippines, Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
and Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
in Australia, Vava'u, Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
.
He and Ravenet returned together in 1795 and remained in Spain, working for the government at a rate of 27,000 reales per year, as stipulated in their contract. He created lithographs and engravings based on his paintings for a book on the expedition. In 1799, on the occasion of Cardinal Luis María de Borbón's elevation to Archbishop of Toledo
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana). , he designed and created a triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...
for the Cathedral. That same year, King Carlos IV
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles III of Spain
, mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony
, birth_date =11 November 1748
, birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples
, death_date =
, death_place ...
named him "Painter, Architect and Decorator for the Royal Court". He was married the following year, but had only one son before becoming a widower.
After the expedition
In May 1806, his contract expired. He and Ravenet presented all of their works to Count , Director of the Hydrographic Office. Two years later, following the Siege of Zaragoza, he and his fellow artist Juan Gálvez went there by invitation of General José de Palafox to create a graphic record of the event's aftermath. Thirty-two of these drawings were later published as ''Grabados de la Ruina de Zaragoza''. He briefly returned to Madrid, then fled to Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
when it became obvious that Napoleon's troops would take the city.
Following the end of the Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, he went back to Madrid, where he took up his position as Court Painter under the new King, Fernando VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_pla ...
. In 1814, he was appointed the Director of Perspective and Decorative Art at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...
and became an Academician of Merit the following year.
In 1817, the Academy published his ''Tratado de Principios Elementales de Perspectiva''. Four years later, he was commissioned to create a series of paintings and lithographs depicting Royal sites; including El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
, Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
, Buen Retiro Buen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Anders Buen (1864–1933), Norwegian typographer, newspaper editor, trade unionist, and politician
*Hauk Buen (1933–2021), Norwegian hardingfele fiddler and fiddle maker
*Knut Buen (bo ...
and Moncloa Palace
The Palace of Moncloa or Moncloa Palace ( es, Palacio de la Moncloa) is the official residence and workplace of the Prime Minister of Spain. It is located in Puerta de Hierro Avenue, in the Moncloa-Aravaca district in Madrid. It has been the off ...
; a project that kept him engaged until 1832. They were published as ''Vistas de los Sitios Reales y Madrid''.
He had suffered from a serious illness in 1829 and never fully recovered. After seeking cures at various spas, he died at his home in Madrid in 1834.
References
Further reading
* Carmen Sotos Serrano, ''Los Pintores de la Expedición de Alejandro Malaspina'', Real Academia de la Historia, 1982
* José Luis Sancho, ''Aranjuez: Solan de Cabras- La Isabela (Las Visitas de los Sitios Reales por Brambilla)'', Doce Calles, 2002,
External links
"The Siege of Zaragoza"
exhibition at the
More works by Brambila
@ the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brambilla, Ferdinando
1763 births
1834 deaths
18th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
19th-century Italian painters
Italian engravers
Italian landscape painters
Italian vedutisti
Artists from the Province of Bergamo
Spanish painters
Brera Academy alumni
Court painters
19th-century Italian male artists
18th-century Italian male artists