Batalla de las Navas de Tolosa, por Francisco van Halen

Francisco de Paula Van Halen y Gil (3 March 1814,

Vic Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

- 11 February 1887,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

) was a Spanish painter, known primarily for battle scenes and other historical works.

Biography

Long thought to be a nephew of the General and military adventurer,

Juan Van Halen Juan Van Halen y Sartí (16 February 1788 – 8 November 1864) was a Spanish military officer. After fighting for the losing side in the Peninsular War, he was forced to flee to Spain. Van Halen became a military adventurer throughout Europe and ...

, recent research by Juan Van Halen Acedo indicates that he was probably the General's son.Introduction
to ''Juan Van Halen, el oficial aventurero'' by

Pío Baroja Pío Baroja y Nessi (28 December 1872 – 30 October 1956) was a Spanish writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. He was a member of an illustrious family. His brother Ricardo was a painter, writer and engraver, and his nephew ...

, pg. 33, @ Google Books. He began his career in Barcelona, then moved to Madrid, where he enrolled at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and studied with José Aparicio.Brief biography
@ the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

. In 1838, he made his public début at the age of twenty-four with his rendering of the death of Don

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

; displayed at an exposition of the "Liceo Artistico y Literario". After that, he found work as an illustrator and engraver for some of Madrid's major magazines. He also edited several collections of lithographs, including ''La España Pintoresca y Artística'', ''El Museo Histórico Español'' and ''Museo Militar''. One of his most popular collections, which was reissued in the 1950s, was ''Función de Toros''. In 1851, he was named a

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

for Queen

Isabel II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

and was elected a member of the San Fernando Academy. His work for the Queen included the creation of scientific drawings for the

Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales The National Museum of Natural Sciences ( es, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales) is the national museum of natural history of Spain. It is situated in the center of Madrid, by the Paseo de la Castellana. It is managed by the Spanish National Re ...

and one of his two best-known battle paintings, the " Batalla de los Siete Condes" was commissioned by her. The other one, the " Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa" is on display in the . Many of his other paintings are on display in the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. From 1860, he was a frequent participant in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. His wife, Margarita, was the sister of poet and progressive politician, . He was a Commander in the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

. A street in Vic is named after him.

References

External links

Sketches and lithographs by Van Halen
@ the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica. {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Halen, Francisco de Paula 1814 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters History painters Military art Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic People from Vic Spanish people of Flemish descent Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni

Biography

References

Further reading

External links