Ramón Pérez de Ayala y Fernández del Portal (9 August 1880, in

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located a ...

– 5 August 1962, 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 ...

) was a Spanish writer. He was the Spanish ambassador to England in London (1931-1936) and voluntarily exiled himself to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

via

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because of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

Background

Pérez de Ayala was educated at

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

schools, the experience of which he satirized in the novel ''A.M.D.G.'' (1910). The novelist Leopoldo Alas was among his professors, and Alas's "intellectual novel," focused on ideas and philosophy, would influence Pérez de Ayala's own fiction. There is some debate regarding to which generation of Spanish writers Pérez de Ayala belongs. His early realistic novels reveal ties with the

Generation of 98 The Generation of '98 ( es, Generación del 98), also called Generation of 1898 ( es, Generación de 1898, links=no), was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), comm ...

. However, some argue that Ramon Pérez de Ayala was a member of the Generation of 1914, a group which did not entirely fit with either the

or the Generation of 27. Like his political ally

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

, he was a liberal republican and opposed to the Spanish monarchy, as well as a professed

Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "fr ...

who sought to import the English parliamentary system to Spain. He was elected to the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

in 1928, and received nominations for the

in 1931, 1934 and 1947. He was appointed director of the

Prado Museum 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 th ...

in 1931 a position that he left temporarily in 1932 to become the Spanish ambassador to Britain. Perez de Ayala received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1936. He was succeeded as director of the

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

in 1936. After 1916, his novels became increasingly mature and lyrical, his characters becoming

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ic representatives of general human problems. To this period belongs his masterpieces, ''Belarmino y Apolonio'' (1921) (translated as "Belarmino and Apolonio"), ''Tiger Juan'' (1926) and ''El curandero de su honra'' (''The Healer of his Honour'') (1927). ''La paz del sendero'' (''The Peace of the Path'') (1903), ''El sendero innumerable'' (1916), and ''El sendero andante'' (1921), his major poetic works, show the influence of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

symbolism. He also wrote satiric essays and dramatic criticism.

Works available in English

*''Belarmino and Apolonio'' (1990) Quartet Books. *''Honeymoon, Bittermoon'' (1974) University of California Press. *Sunday Light. In: * ''Tiger Juan'' translator

Walter Starkie Walter Fitzwilliam Starkie CMG, CBE, Litt.D (9 August 1894 – 2 November 1976) was an Irish scholar, Hispanist, writer and musician. His reputation is principally based on his popular travel writing: ''Raggle-Taggle'' (1933), ''Spanish Raggle ...

, J. Cape, 1933,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez de Ayala, Ramon 1880 births 1962 deaths People from Oviedo Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Politicians from Asturias Spanish male writers Modernist writers Writers from Asturias Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Directors of the Museo del Prado Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Argentina Colegio de la Inmaculada (Gijón) alumni University of Oviedo alumni Spanish diplomats Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Exiled Spanish politicians