Ignacio Merino Muñoz (30 January 1817 in

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

– 17 March 1876 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a Peruvian painter who spent much of his life in Paris. He specialized in historical and

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 ...

works.

Biography

His father, Don José, was a judge, district administrator and military commander. His mother Doña Micaela, was from an aristocratic family in Trujillo. At the age of ten, he was sent to study in Paris, where he earned his bachelor's degree and became interested in art. La Jarana - Ignacio Merino s

He studied with

Raymond Monvoisin '' 200px, Portrait of Andrés Bello '' Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin (May 31, 1790 – March 26, 1870) was a French artist and painter. Biography Monvoisin was born in Bordeaux. Although he initiated a career in the military by indication o ...

and

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...

, who inspired his interest in

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

. Also as result of Delaroche's influence, he tended to focus on themes from European history, whereas his Peruvian-themed paintings were generally in the costumbrista category. Back in Peru, he became Assistant Director, then Director of the "Academy of Drawing and Painting", founded by

José Fernando de Abascal José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, where he taught or otherwise influenced the careers of other prominent painters, such as , and Francisco Laso. During the 1840s, he created a series of portraits devoted to Peruvian saints, including

Rose of Lima Rose of Lima (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty stricken of the city thro ...

and

Martín de Porres Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...

. In 1850, he had an opportunity to study with

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, and returned to Paris. He would remain there for the rest of his life. It is said that an exhibition of his costumbrista paintings served as the inspiration for ''

Martin Paz "Martin Paz" is a long short story (novella) by Jules Verne, written in 1851. It appeared in the ''Musée des familles'' from July 10 through August 11, 1852. The text was later revised and enlarged for publication in book form. Plot The story ...

'', an adventure story by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, which was set in Lima."Ignacio Merino: La Historia Imaginada
@ Peru 21. Upon returning to Paris, he produced 92 wood engravings for a luxury 1854 edition of 1797 satir
''Lima por dentro y fuera,''
collaborating with Parisian printer A. Mézin and draftsman A. Jourdain. Many of these engravings, including landscapes, portraits, and popular scenes, served as studies for later canvases of costumbrista themes. It was there he created his best-known painting, ''Colón ante los doctores en Salamanca'', which was purchased by the government of President

José Balta José Balta y Montero (25 April 1814 – 26 July 1872) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as the 19th President of Peru from 1868 to 1872. He was the son of John Balta Bru and Agustina Montero Casafranca. In 1865, he aided Ma ...

after winning a third-place medal at the "Exposition des Beaux-Arts". He was also inspired by European literature and created works based on the writings of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

and

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

.Brief biography
@ Biografías y Vidas He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1876. Having never married and without an heir, he ceded his estate to the Municipality of Lima. This included 33 paintings which, in 1925, were the first acquisitions of the newly founded "", administered by the Municipality of Lima to the present day.

References

External links

Pinacoteca Municipal Ignacio Merino
@ Lima Cultura
Pinacoteca Municipal Ignacio Merino
@ the

Google Cultural Institute Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merino, Ignacio Peruvian painters 1817 births 1876 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Piura History painters Peruvian emigrants to France 19th-century Peruvian painters 19th-century Peruvian male artists Neoclassical artists Tuberculosis deaths in France Romantic painters Peruvian male painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links