Luis Menéndez Pidal (8 August 1861, in Pajares – 7 February 1932, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) was a Spanish painter; primarily of

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes.

Biography

His father, Juan Menéndez Fernández, was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. His brothers,

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

and

Ramón Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

, became noted historians and writers. During his childhood, his family moved frequently; a requirement of his father's profession. Although he wanted to be a painter, his father insisted that he study law and he completed his degree at the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History Th ...

in 1884.Brief biography
@ MCN Biografías During this time, however, he also took classes at the "Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Salvador" and, in 1885, enrolled at the "Escuela Superior de Pintura" (a branch of the

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 centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

) in Madrid, where he studied with

Alejandro Ferrant Alejandro Ferrant y Fischermans (9 September 1843 – 20 January 1917) was a Spanish painter. Life He was born in Madrid, and studied with his uncle, Luis Ferrant Llausàs, and at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. He also rece ...

.Brief biography
@ the

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

Thanks to a grant, he was able to continue his studies in Italy, where he worked with

José Villegas Cordero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

and Francisco Pradilla in Rome, then spent some time in Florence at the Accademia Ussi. He returned to Spain in 1888. At the 1890 National Exhibition of Fine Arts, he was awarded a second-class medal for his painting called "A buen juez, mejor testigo" (A good judge is the best witness) and some of his works were purchased by the Regent, María Cristina. In 1892, he was married and settled permanently in Madrid. In 1892 and 1899, he was awarded first-class medals for "La cuna vacía" (The empty cradle) and "Salus infirmorun" (Salvation of the sick), respectively. He was named a Professor at the "Escuela Superior de Artes Industriales" in 1900. The following year, he moved to the "Escuela de Artes y Oficios Artísticos", in charge of decorative painting. In 1907, he helped organize the room devoted to

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

at the

and succeeded to the Chair of Drawing at the San Fernando Academy; a position he held until he retired at the age of seventy. He died a few months later. His son, , was an architect and building restorer.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Menéndez Pidal.
@ Acebedo (blog) {{DEFAULTSORT:Menendez Pidal, Luis 1861 births 1932 deaths People from Lena, Asturias Painters from Asturias Spanish genre painters 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists