Antonio Herrera Toro (16 January 1857 – 26 June 1914) was a Venezuelan painter, art critic and professor.

Biography

He was born in

Valencia, Carabobo Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela. The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay m ...

, and began his artistic studies in 1869, under the tutelage of

Martín Tovar y Tovar Martín Tovar y Tovar (10 February 1827 – 17 December 1902) was a Venezuelan painter, best known for his portraits and historical scenes. Biography Tovar was born and died in Caracas. His father, Antonio María Tovar (1791–1860), was a fo ...

. Five years later, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Caracas, where he studied with and

Miguel Navarro Cañizares Miguel Navarro Cañizares (c. 1835 – 23 October 1913) was a Spanish painter and art teacher who worked in Venezuela and Brazil. Biography He was born to a basket maker in Valencia and attended the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Car ...

.Brief biography
@ MCN Biografías. In 1875, he received a government scholarship that allowed him to study in Paris and Rome. He returned in 1881, with sketches of the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic_Mariology#Dogmatic_teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and d ...

, commissioned by José Antonio Ponte (1832–1883), the Archbishop of Caracas, that he used for murals at

Caracas Cathedral The Caracas Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Anne is the seat of the Roman Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese of Caracas, located on the Plaza Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. Its chapel of the Holy Trinity is the burial site of the pa ...

, painted with the assistance of Cristóbal Rojas. In 1883, he portrayed the final moments of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

, to commemorate the centennial of Bolívar's birth. The following year, he travelled to Peru on behalf of Tovar, making sketches at the sites of the battles of Junín and

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...

for paintings that Tovar had been commissioned to create for the

Palacio Federal Legislativo The Palacio Federal Legislativo (English: Federal Legislative Palace), also known as the Capitolio, is a historic building in Caracas, Venezuela which houses both the National Assembly and the National Constituent Assembly. Located southeast of th ...

. As it turned out, Herrera had to complete the ''Battle of Ayacucho'' after Tovar's death. He later took up journalistic pursuits in addition to painting, signing his writings with the pseudonym "Santoro". He was a major contributor to the cultural affairs bi-weekly, ' (The Illustrated Cripple, named by one of its founders, who had a bad leg), and a co-founder of ''El Granuja'' (The Rogue). In 1892, he was appointed Director of the government "Office of Buildings and Ornamentation" (Edificios y Ornato de Poblaciones) and, in 1908, became Director of the Art Academy, following the death of

Emilio Jacinto Mauri Emilio Jacinto Mauri Ivern (9 March 1855, La Guaira - 18 February 1908, Caracas) was a Venezuelan painter who specialized in portraits; mostly of an historical nature. Biography His father was Spanish and his mother was French. After 1861, his ...

. Early the following year, he was faced with a strike by a large group of students who were demanding changes in the curriculum. Two years later, together with Pedro Arismendi Brito (1832–1914), a former general and respected man of letters, he drafted regulations for the "Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes", which included music and acting as well as painting and sculpture. He also tendered his resignation, which was not accepted so, despite being the target of student protests, he retained the position until his death in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Selected paintings

File:Antonio Herrea Toro 1895 000.jpg, ''Self-portrait'' (1895) File:Antonio Herrera Toro 2012 001.jpg, '' Ricaurte in San Mateo'' File:Antonio Herrera Toro 004.JPG, ''Patio Interior'' File:Visita del obispo al estudio 1902 000.JPG, ''The Bishop
Visits his Studio'' File:Eduardo Blanco - Antonio Herrera Toro.jpg, ''Portrait of
Eduardo Blanco''

Antonio

External links

Obras de Antonio Herrera Toro son expuestas en la Galería de Arte Nacional, en Caracas
''Gaceta Oficial'', from

Venezolana de Televisión Corporación Venezolana de Televisión (Spanish for: ''Venezuelan Television Corporation'') or VTV is a state-run television station based in Caracas, Venezuela, which can be seen throughout the capital and surrounding areas on channel 8. Programs ...

Biography
@ Wikihistoria del Arte Venezolano. {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera Toro, Antonio 1857 births 1914 deaths People from Valencia, Venezuela History painters Portrait painters 19th-century Venezuelan painters 19th-century male artists 20th-century Venezuelan painters 20th-century Venezuelan male artists Male painters Death in Caracas

Biography

Selected paintings

Antonio

Further reading

External links