Retrato de José Domíguez Bécquer (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla)

Partida de naipes, José Domínguez Bécquer

José María Domínguez Insausti, better known as José Domínguez Bécquer (22 January 1805,

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 ...

- 28 January 1841, Seville) was a Spanish painter in the

Costumbrismo ''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 ...

style. He was the father of the famous poet,

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented ...

, and the painter Valeriano Bécquer.

Biography

He was descended from an old

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

family, that had been established in Seville since the 16th century. Originally very wealthy, by the 18th century they had lost their fortune and fame, but retained their noble pride.Jesús Rubio Jiménez, ''José María Domínguez Bécquer'', Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Diputación de Sevilla, 2007 His parents were Antonio Domínguez Bécquer and María Antonia Insausti, from

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...

. Later, José would adopt the name Bécquer, in preference to Insausti, as a way of recognizing his family's origins. He studied art at the Escuela de Tres Nobles Artes, where he became lifelong friends with his fellow student,

Antonio María Esquivel Antonio María Esquivel y Suárez de Urbina (8 March 1806 – 9 April 1857) was a Spanish painter in the Romanticism, Romantic style who specialized in portraits.''Arte Español'': Journal of the "Sociedad Española de Amigos del Arte''Estudio y ...

. When he married Joaquina Bastida y Vargas in 1827, Esquivel served as his

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

. They had eight children, including the aforementioned Valeriano and Gustavo. His namesake, José, was born in 1841, after his death. In 1830, he became associated with the Academia de Bellas Artes de Sevilla and established his own studio. From 1837 to 1841, he kept a meticulous record of everything associated with the studio. He socialized with the British painters who visited Spain, such as David Roberts and

John Frederick Lewis John Frederick Lewis (1804–1876) was an English Orientalist painter. He specialized in Oriental and Mediterranean scenes in detailed watercolour or oils, very often repeating the same composition in a version in each medium. He lived for ...

, and many of his works were sent to England from

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, ...

, with the assistance of the Consul there, John MacPherson Brackenbury (1778-1847). It was often said that his works were better known in England than in Spain. He died suddenly, of undisclosed causes, aged only thirty-six. His cousin,

Joaquín Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982 ...

, who had lived with them and been an assistant in the studio, became Valeriano's guardian. He was one of the many artists who contributed illustrations for ''

Artistic and Monumental Spain ''Artistic and Monumental Spain '' (Spanish: ''España Artística y Monumental'') is an illustrated travel book in 3 volumes, including significant structures and monuments in Spain. It was published in 1842 in Paris by Veith and Hauser. The illust ...

'', a three-volume travel book, under the direction of

Jenaro Pérez Villaamil Jenaro Pérez de Villaamil y d'Huguet (3 February 1807 – 5 June 1854) was a Spanish painter in the Romantic style who specialized in landscapes with figures and architectural scenes. He often inflated the scale of the buildings relative t ...

, which was published in 1842.

References

External links

"El "Año de los Bécquer" saca a la luz la obra de padre de Valeriano y Gustavo"
@ ''

La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

''
Biographical notes
@ the Museo del Prado
Biographical notes
@ Artehistoria {{DEFAULTSORT:Dominguez Becquer, Jose 1805 births 1841 deaths Spanish painters Spanish genre painters Spanish portrait painters Academy of San Carlos alumni Painters from Seville