Gonzalo Bilbao Martínez (27 May 1860 – 4 December 1938) was a Spanish

costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19t ...

painter and art professor.

Biography

He was born in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, the son of a well-to-do lawyer and the older brother of the sculptor,

Joaquín Bilbao Joaquín Bilbao Martínez (August 27, 1864January 30, 1934) was a Spanish sculptor. The equestrian statue of Ferdinand III of Castile in the Plaza Nueva, Seville, opposite the Town Hall, was sculpted by him. Early life Joaquín Bilbao was bo ...

. With the encouragement of José Jiménez Aranda, he began drawing lessons at an early age. At his father's insistence, he studied law along with his art lessons.Brief biography
@ Sevillanos Ilustres. In 1880, he completed his law degree, but never entered into practice; continuing his art lessons and devoting himself exclusively to painting.Brief biography
@ the

Carmen Thyssen Museum The Carmen Thyssen Museum (Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga) is an art museum in the Spanish city Málaga. The main focus of the museum is 19th-century Spanish painting, predominantly Andalusian, based on the collection of Carmen Cervera, fifth wife of ...

. As it turned out, his father was pleased with the results and paid his expenses for travelling to France and Italy with Aranda. He remained in Italy for three years, establishing himself in Rome; travelling frequently to Naples and Venice, where he painted both urban and rural scenes. Bilbao-Romeria

He returned to Spain in 1884. His restless temperament made it difficult for him to become accustomed to life in Seville, so he moved constantly, painting landscapes and wasted little time planning new trips; visiting Algeria and Morocco. From there, it was back to Paris, where he sold his Moroccan paintings. His travels continued throughout Europe and America. In 1893, he was appointed a member of the Academia de Bellas Artes and, in 1901, became President of the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

. In 1903, he succeeded Aranda as a Professor at the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría (''Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Isabel of Hungary'') is located in the Casa de los Pinelo, Casa-Palacio de los Pinelo in central Seville, Spain. It is divided into six sections: ...

, where his students included

Daniel Vázquez Díaz Daniel Vázquez Díaz (January 15, 1882 – March 17, 1969) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Nerva, Spain, Vázquez Díaz settled in Paris in 1918, where he found cubism to be the ideal form of expression. Unlike other artists such as ...

and

Eugenio Hermoso file:Eugenio Hermoso. Autorretrato c. 1930. 03.jpg, Eugenio Hermoso. Autorretrato c. 1930. 03. Eugenio Hermoso Martínez (Fregenal de la Sierra, February 26, 1883Madrid, February 2, 1963) was a Spanish people, Spanish painter active in Badajoz. He ...

. In 1904, he married the daughter of a French banker. He is perhaps best known for a series of sketches and paintings depicting "cigarreras" (cigar makers), made during the 1910s at the

Royal Tobacco Factory The Royal Tobacco Factory ( es, Real Fábrica de Tabacos) is an 18th-century stone building in Seville, southern Spain. Since the 1950s it has been the seat of the rectorate of the University of Seville. Prior to that, it was, as its name indicat ...

. During his later years, he received numerous awards, including 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 ...

and the

Order of Carlos III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

. In 1935, he was elected a member of 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 moved to Madrid. He died in

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 ...

, aged 78, during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, while the city was under siege. After the war, his widow donated his remaining works to the Museo de Bellas Artes.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Bilbao.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbao, Gonzalo 1860 births 1938 deaths 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish genre painters Painters from Seville Spanish Orientalist painters Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

Biography

References

Further reading

External links