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拍品专文
Born in El Escorial, Madrid, Rico first studied under his brother, the engraver Bernardino Rico (1825-1894), and later at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando under the professor of landscape painting, Jenaro Pirez Villamil. In 1862 Rico was given a scholarship to study in Paris, where he became acquainted with the paintings of the Barbizon School, and of Charles-François Daubigny in particular. The artist went on to achieve many honors while exhibiting at the 1878 and 1889 Expositions Universelles in Paris, as well as the Paris Salon and the Exposición Nacional in Madrid. He also held the significant post of Artistic Director of the journal Ilustración Espanola y Americana.
The most influential of Rico's experiences was his first visit to Italy in 1872. Accompanied by the painter Mariano Fortuny, Rico became so enamored of the Italian landscape that a prolific output of paintings celebrating the country ensued thereafter. He was above all awestruck by the majesty of Venice, whose sites he went on to capture in innumerable paintings. Although he made Paris his permanent home in 1879, he continued to spend each summer painting in a rented Palazzo in Venice. He would often work sitting in a gondola, sketching buildings and bridges as seen from the water.
In 1878, the art critic Paul Lefort wrote of Rico in La Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 'Although a fanatic when it comes to light, and an aficionado of rare and augmented color tonalities which, in his works, resemble precious stones, he refrains from overstepping the limits of human vision. The Grand Canal of Venice, the Slaves Wharf, his views of Rome, of Toledo, of the Escorial and of Granada are inimitable morceaux which reveal his talents in composition as well as his care in execution' (P. Lefort cited in C. Gonzalez and M. Marti, Spanish Painters in Rome 1850-1900, Madrid, 1987, pp. 182-3).
The present view of a Venetian canal represents the city at its finest. Rich coloring and heavy impasto render the sunlit cityscape in a highly romantic manner. Lush trees provide a sense of umbrage which plays upon the waters below, thereby creating a dazzling reflection almost impressionistic in execution. Small figures are effortlessly integrated into the scene, thereby making this sunny afternoon in Venice a moment of harmonious accord.
This work has been authenticated by Mrs. Claude Rico.
The most influential of Rico's experiences was his first visit to Italy in 1872. Accompanied by the painter Mariano Fortuny, Rico became so enamored of the Italian landscape that a prolific output of paintings celebrating the country ensued thereafter. He was above all awestruck by the majesty of Venice, whose sites he went on to capture in innumerable paintings. Although he made Paris his permanent home in 1879, he continued to spend each summer painting in a rented Palazzo in Venice. He would often work sitting in a gondola, sketching buildings and bridges as seen from the water.
In 1878, the art critic Paul Lefort wrote of Rico in La Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 'Although a fanatic when it comes to light, and an aficionado of rare and augmented color tonalities which, in his works, resemble precious stones, he refrains from overstepping the limits of human vision. The Grand Canal of Venice, the Slaves Wharf, his views of Rome, of Toledo, of the Escorial and of Granada are inimitable morceaux which reveal his talents in composition as well as his care in execution' (P. Lefort cited in C. Gonzalez and M. Marti, Spanish Painters in Rome 1850-1900, Madrid, 1987, pp. 182-3).
The present view of a Venetian canal represents the city at its finest. Rich coloring and heavy impasto render the sunlit cityscape in a highly romantic manner. Lush trees provide a sense of umbrage which plays upon the waters below, thereby creating a dazzling reflection almost impressionistic in execution. Small figures are effortlessly integrated into the scene, thereby making this sunny afternoon in Venice a moment of harmonious accord.
This work has been authenticated by Mrs. Claude Rico.