Life and Early Training
- Martín Rico y Ortega (1833-1908) was a celebrated Spanish landscape and cityscape painter, recognized both nationally and internationally.
- Born in El Escorial, Madrid, he received his earliest formal training at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
- He studied under Jenaro Pérez Villaamil, the academy’s first professor of landscape painting.
- Rico's early works were influenced by Romanticism, the style for which his teacher was known.
Development and Influences: From Paris to Granada
- In 1860, Rico moved to Paris on a government-sponsored scholarship.
- While in France, he looked to the artists of the Barbizon School for inspiration, particularly Charles-François Daubigny.
- His landscapes from this decade depict the French and Swiss countryside in a fully accomplished Realist style.
- Due to political unrest caused by the Franco-Prussian War, Rico returned to Spain around 1870.
- At the invitation of his friend and colleague Marià Fortuny, he moved to Granada.
- Rico worked closely with Fortuny and painter Ricardo de Madrazo during this period, their styles overlapping significantly.
- Through Fortuny’s influence, Rico's paintings began to reveal a newfound sense of luminosity and color.
The Venetian Period: Artistic Perfection
- Rico’s discovery of Venice in 1873 marked a turning point in his artistic development.
- He and Fortuny traveled together to Italy, visiting Rome, Naples, Florence, and Venice.
- Venice captivated Rico's imagination more than any other city he had previously visited.
- From 1873 until his death, Rico spent every summer (with one exception) working in Venice.
- He frequently painted his Venetian scenes en plein air, often from a gondola or window in the Dorsoduro neighborhood.
- Rico became good friends with the Peruvian painter Federico del Campo; they sometimes worked together painting popular Venetian scenes.
Historical Significance and Legacy
- Rico joined a group of artists attracted to Venice's light, atmosphere, and tradition of Italian vedute, including Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Federico del Campo.
- He is remembered for his ability to capture the essence of Venetian scenes with stunning detail.
- Rico died in Venice, aged 74.
- His work exemplifies the transition from Romanticism to Realism in Spanish painting and showcases the beauty of light and atmosphere through plein air techniques.
