Leonardo Alenza y Nieto (6 November 1807,
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 ...
– 30 June 1845, Madrid) was a Spanish painter and engraver in the
Romantic
Romantic may refer to:
Genres and eras
* The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries
** Romantic music, of that era
** Romantic poetry, of that era
** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
style; associated with the
Costumbrista movement.
Biography
His father, Valentín, was a government employee and amateur poet, who succeeded in having some poems published in the '. His mother died around 1813, when he was only six or seven.
In 1817, his father remarried. His step-mother was only eleven years older than he was. Soon after, the family moved from the busy neighborhood where they lived, to a quieter street near a Jesuit convent. He probably began his higher education there, at the
Colegio Imperial de la Compañía de Jesús.
In 1819, at age 16, he was enrolled at the
Academia de San Fernando, where he initially studied with the painters
Zacarías González Velázquez
Zacarías González Velázquez (5 November 1763 – 31 January 1834) was a Spanish painter; known primarily for his portraits and religious works.
Biography
Velázquez was born in Madrid to a family of artists. His father was the painter ...
,
Juan Antonio Ribera and
José Aparicio,
[Brief biography](_blank)
at Galería Pintores Españoles. as well as the engraver Vicente Peleguer (1793-1865) and the sculptor Esteban de Agreda (1759–1842). He finished his studies there with
José Madrazo
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, 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 ...
.
[Brief biography](_blank)
@ 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 ...
.
He remained attached to the Academy until 1833, when he received a commission from the
Ayuntamiento of Madrid to paint an allegorical picture of
Isabella
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* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpora ...
becoming Queen at the age of three. The following year, he created a
cenotaph honoring the late 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 ...
, composed of five panels done in
grisaille.
In 1838, he began providing drawings for the ',
published by
Ramón de Mesonero Romanos
Ramón de Mesonero Romanos (19 July 1803 – 30 April 1882) was a Spanish prose writer who was born in Madrid.
Biography
At an early age, he became interested in the history and topography of his native city. His ''Guía de Madrid'' (1831) was pu ...
, and exhibited some
capriccios at the Academy. Two years later, he collaborated with the ''Semanario'' to produce illustrations for a new edition of the novel ''
Gil Blas'' and the complete works of
Francisco de Quevedo. He also created decorations for the popular .
In 1842, the Academy awarded him the title of "Académico de Mérito" for his painting of
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
cutting off the head of
Goliath
Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
.
This would be his last major work, as he had been suffering from
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 ...
for several years and was in very poor health. Despite this, he managed to serve as a professor for a few months.
Meanwhile, he was living in a cow barn, because he had become convinced that the fumes there were beneficial. Nothing helped, however, and he died in 1845 at the age of 38. He had become impoverished by then and his friends had to intervene to prevent his burial in a
common grave.
Other selected paintings
File:El sacamuelas (1844).jpg, The Toothpuller
File:Alenza-Soup.jpg, Distributing Soup
File:Leonardo Alenza - The death of Daoíz in Monteleón Artillery Ground - Google Art Project.jpg, The Death of
Luis Daoíz y Torres
File:Alenza-Triumph.jpg, The Triumph of Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
References
Further reading
* Francisco Pompey, "Leonardo Alenza", in ''Temas españoles'' #249, Publicaciones Españolas, 1956
* ''Leonardo Alenza (1807-1845): Dibujos y Estampas'', Secretaria General Técnica, Centro de Publicaciones, 1997
External links
Digitalized works by Alenzain the "Biblioteca Digital Hispánica" of the
Biblioteca Nacional de España
The Biblioteca Nacional de España (''National Library of Spain'') is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos.
History
The library was founded by ...
.
ArtNet: More works by AlenzaSonnet composed on the occasion of Alenza's deathby
Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch
Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch (6 September 1806 – 2 August 1880) was a Spanish dramatist. He was the Director of the National Library of Spain until he retired in 1875.
Biography
Hartzenbusch was born in Madrid, Spain. His father was a German furni ...
.
Critique of the Satire on Romantic Suicidefrom ''Rebels and Martyrs: The Image of the Artist in the Nineteenth Century'' by
Alexander Sturgis
Alexander John Sturgis (born 6 November 1963) is a British art historian and museum curator. He is the current Museum director, Director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. He was Museum director, Director of the Holburne Museum in Bath, Somerse ...
Scholarly articlesabout Leonardo Alenza both in web an
PDF@ th
Spanish Old Masters Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alenza, Leonardo
1807 births
1845 deaths
Artists from Madrid
19th-century engravers
Spanish engravers
19th-century Spanish painters
19th-century Spanish male artists
Spanish male painters
Painters from the Community of Madrid