Ricardo Macarrón Jaime (1926–2004), was a Spanish painter and portraitist. He is known for his court paintings for European royalty and portraits of

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

, including four generations of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

, and

Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessia ...

Early life

Ricardo Macarrón Jaime was born April 9, 1926 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 ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His father Juan Macarrón Despierto owned a workshop for art restorers and carvers. Macarrón attended

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 ...

, studying under . While he was a student he made his first portrait of artist Joaquín García Donaire in 1943. Macarrón won many art awards while he was a student. He met his future wife

Alicia Iturrioz Alicia Iturrioz Arrizabalaga (31 January 1927 – 9 September 2021) was a Spanish painter and author. She is known for her portraits, she was a portraitist for the Spanish royal family and the European aristocracy. Biography Alicia Iturrioz Ar ...

in college, where she also attended too. Together they had two daughters.

Career and late life

He had three marked periods of style in his paintings – from 1955 to 1960 he was working with a cubist influence; from 1960 to 1968 his work was darker and emphasized "disenchantment"; and in later life in the 1990s the work reflected his strong technical skills and techniques. Macarrón had painted portraits of three Queens,

Sofia of Spain Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

of England, Noor of Jordan. Also notable is his 1961 portrait of

Carmen Cervera María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Cervera y Fernández de la Guerra, Dowager Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (german: link=no, María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Freifrau von Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon; born 23 April 1943) ...

. Macarrón died on May 14, 2004 in Riaza,

. He was cremated and has a memorial in Almudena cemetery in Madrid. After Macarróns death, Iturrioz wrote the memoir ''Mi Vida con Ricardo Macarrón'' (2014) about their shared life experiences. His work is found in public museum collections, including the

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...

, and

Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer The Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer (Víctor Balaguer Museum & Library) is located in Vilanova i la Geltrú and was founded in 1884 by Víctor Balaguer so as to thank the city for its support during his politician career. Since 2000 the museu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarrón, Ricardo 1926 births 2004 deaths Artists from Madrid Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni Court painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters