Martin Rico y Ortega
(1833 - 1908)
A canal in Venice
Signed, lower right: Rico
Oil on canvas
28⅜ x 19 in - 72 x 48.2 cm
Frame size
35⅞ x 26¾ in - 91 x 68 cm
Oil on canvas
28⅜ x 19 in - 72 x 48.2 cm
Frame size
35⅞ x 26¾ in - 91 x 68 cm
Tel.: +44 (0)20 7839 7693
Provenance
The Tina Hills Collection, USA
Biography
Martín Rico y Ortega was one of the foremost Spanish landscape painters of the 19th century and an important figure in the development of modern Spanish landscape painting.
Born in El Escorial, near Madrid on 12th November 1833, he initially studied under his elder brother Bernardo Rico (1825-94), a distinguished wood engraver, before enrolling at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid. In 1859, he was awarded a travel scholarship that enabled him to continue his studies in Paris. He remained in France for several years, travelling extensively throughout Europe and absorbing the influence of contemporary French landscape painting. On his return to Spain, he established a reputation for finely observed landscapes and town views, painting in locations including Toledo and Granada, where the Alhambra became an important subject.
In 1872, Rico travelled to Italy, where he was captivated by Venice with its architecture, canals and distinctive light, which provided him with a seemingly inexhaustible source of inspiration. Rico also painted in the south of Italy, in Rome and Sorrento, but it was his Venetian views of palazzi, waterways, churches and the Doge's Palace, characterised by meticulous draughtsmanship, luminous colour and a refined sensitivity to atmosphere, that would ultimately define his international reputation.
Rico exhibited regularly in Paris, including at the Salon, and in 1878 he participated in the Exposition Universelle, where he was awarded a bronze medal, the same year he was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. He returned to the Exposition Universelle in 1889, where he received a silver medal.
Rico's paintings were widely collected in Europe and the United States, where his work enjoyed particular popularity. By 1889, his paintings were already appearing on the New York art market. His international standing is reflected in the collections of major museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which holds three works representative of his oeuvre: A Spanish Garden, On the Seine, Paris and A Canal in Venice.
His works can be found in museums in: Madrid, Prado Museum; Seville, Walters Art Museum; Reims; Venice; Minneapolis and New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Born in El Escorial, near Madrid on 12th November 1833, he initially studied under his elder brother Bernardo Rico (1825-94), a distinguished wood engraver, before enrolling at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid. In 1859, he was awarded a travel scholarship that enabled him to continue his studies in Paris. He remained in France for several years, travelling extensively throughout Europe and absorbing the influence of contemporary French landscape painting. On his return to Spain, he established a reputation for finely observed landscapes and town views, painting in locations including Toledo and Granada, where the Alhambra became an important subject.
In 1872, Rico travelled to Italy, where he was captivated by Venice with its architecture, canals and distinctive light, which provided him with a seemingly inexhaustible source of inspiration. Rico also painted in the south of Italy, in Rome and Sorrento, but it was his Venetian views of palazzi, waterways, churches and the Doge's Palace, characterised by meticulous draughtsmanship, luminous colour and a refined sensitivity to atmosphere, that would ultimately define his international reputation.
Rico exhibited regularly in Paris, including at the Salon, and in 1878 he participated in the Exposition Universelle, where he was awarded a bronze medal, the same year he was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. He returned to the Exposition Universelle in 1889, where he received a silver medal.
Rico's paintings were widely collected in Europe and the United States, where his work enjoyed particular popularity. By 1889, his paintings were already appearing on the New York art market. His international standing is reflected in the collections of major museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which holds three works representative of his oeuvre: A Spanish Garden, On the Seine, Paris and A Canal in Venice.
His works can be found in museums in: Madrid, Prado Museum; Seville, Walters Art Museum; Reims; Venice; Minneapolis and New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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