Madrazo y Agudo, José de
(Santander, 1781 – Madrid, 1859)
José de Madrazo was a fundamental figure of the nineteenth-century Spanish art scene thanks to his position at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid and as director of the Real Museo (now Museo del Prado), both of which he helped to modernise. His painting was also instrumental in formulating and developing neoclassicism in Spain, and he was the founder of a line of artists whose importance and influence were felt throughout the whole of that century. Born in Santander, he trained initially in Madrid, then in Paris from 1801, and then in Rome from 1803. In the Eternal City he quickly became an active member of the flourishing cultural scene of the new Napoleonic city and enjoyed great prestige and fame, also benefiting from the patronage of Charles V.
It was in Rome that he created his masterpiece, one of the fundamental images of Spanish neoclassical painting: The Death of Viriatus. At the time he was also beginning to cultivate his facet as a collector, and he would go on to amass a large pictorial collection. After returning to Spain in 1814, he primarily concentrated on portraits, although his work as a painter was conditioned by numerous professional duties in the artistic structure of the court. His style was inspired by the teachings of Jacques Louis David, at whose studio he trained in Paris and under whose influence he created some of his finest works, although it subsequently evolved towards more innovative trends, as his Self-portrait clearly shows. His status ensured that he attracted the most select clientele, both in Rome and Madrid. Part of his documentary heritage, including his large and fascinating collection of letters, is preserved in the Madrazo Archive of the Museo del Prado and constitutes one of the finest documentary sources for the study of nineteenth-century Spain.
