Virginia Tovar Martín (1929–2013) was a Spanish

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, author, and professor. She was a foremost scholar in the study of architecture and urban planning of

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 ...

during the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period (c. 1600–1750). Tovar Martín was a Professor of History of Art at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

; and at

Autonomous University of Madrid The Autonomous University of Madrid (; UAM), commonly known as la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 by royal decree. UAM is widely respected as one of the most prestigious univ ...

Biography

Virginia Tovar Martín was born on 29 November 1929 in

Bérchules Bérchules is a village and municipality in the central Alpujarra, in the province of Granada in Spain. The origins of the village are Arab. There are two villages in the municipality, Bérchules (36° 58' north and 3° 11' east, elevation 1350 me ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Spain. She received her PhD in 1975 from Complutense University of Madrid, where she studied under the supervision of

Alfonso Pérez Sánchez Alfonso Emilio Pérez Sánchez (16 June 1935 – 14 August 2010) was a Spanish art historian, specialising in Baroque art. From 1983 to 1991 he was director of the Prado Museum, a period during which he led the museum's modernisation as Spain moved ...

. In her early scholarly work she focused on architect

Juan Gómez de Mora Juan Gómez de Mora (1586–1648) was a Spanish architect, active in the 17th century. He was a main figure of Spanish early-Baroque architecture in the city of Madrid. Spanish art historian Virginia Tovar Martín has published scholarly wor ...

. In 1986, she curated an exhibition of Juan Gómez de Mora's work. Tovar Martín emphasized the importance of 18th century Spanish art and architecture, and she felt Spanish art of this time period deserved a place within the canon of

Western art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period bet ...

. Tovar Martín was a member of the (), and the San Damaso Academy (). Tovar Martín died on 10 July 2013 in the town of

Galapagar Galapagar is a town and municipality northwest of Madrid, Spain, situated in the autonomous community of the Community of Madrid. Of all the towns in the area, it was experiencing the most growth, mostly because of immigration and the conversion ...

Publications

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References

1929 births 2013 deaths Complutense University of Madrid alumni Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid Spanish women historians Women art historians Historians of Spain {{Art-historian-stub

Biography

Publications

See also

References