José Moreno Carbonero

He also created genre scenes and some landscapes, vedutas and still lifes. Moreno Carbonero was widely recognized, both nationally and internationally, during his lifetime. He received awards, among others, at the Exposition Universelle of Paris in 1889, the Budapest International Exhibition in 1890, the Universal Exhibition of Berlin in 1891 and the only medal at the World's Columbian Exposition of Chicago in 1893. His work is represented at some of the most influential museums in the world, with El Prado Museum, in Madrid, holding an important collection. Among his masterworks are The Entry of Roger de Flor in Constantinople (1888), The Prince don Carlos de Viana (1881), The Conversion of the Duke of Gandía (1884) and The Founding of Buenos Aires (1910–1924).

José Moreno Carbonero studied at Real Academia de España en Roma. Andrés Parladé, José Fernández Alvarado and Enrique Jaraba y Jiménez are recorded as having studied under José Moreno Carbonero. The recorded working language is Spanish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Positions recorded include Member of the Consultative National Assembly. Work by José Moreno Carbonero is recorded in the collections of Museo del Prado, Museo de Málaga, Carmen Thyssen Museum, Hungarian National Gallery and National Museum of Fine Arts, Argentina. Distinctions recorded are Grand cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso XII.

• Name — José Moreno Carbonero • Born — 24 March 1858, Málaga, Spain • Died — 15 April 1942, Madrid, Francoist Spain • Known for — Painting • Training — School of Fine Arts, Málaga • Movement — Orientalist

Moreno Carbonero was born in the Perchel quarter of Málaga, the son of a carpenter. His exact birthdate has been object of debate, frequently cited as March 1860, but the original birth certificate is conserved and states he was born on 24 March 1858. A precocious artist, in 1868 he joined the school of fine arts in his home town and also took classes in the studio of Bernardo Ferrándiz. He sold his first painting at age fifteen for 2000 pesetas (an important sum at the time) and came to be known as "el niño Moreno" (the Moreno child) because of his early mastery of oil painting. Bernardo Ferrándiz was the leading Málaga artist of the moment and introduced his young student to history painting. Ferrándiz instilled in him his own revolutionary views which he expressed in his historical works by proclaiming a commitment to independence, freedom and nonconformity. Moreno Carbonero obtained the gold medal in the Exhibition of the Lyceum of Málaga in 1872, being only fourteen.

• Illustration — The prince don Carlos de Viana In 1873 Moreno Carbonero visited Morocco, where he began to make African-themed paintings, influenced by Mariano Fortuny. In 1875 he traveled to Paris thanks to a scholarship granted by the local government of Málaga. In Paris he joined the workshop of the painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, known for his Academic and Orientalist works. He also got to know the famous art dealer Adolphe Goupil. Goupil introduced him to the market of small genre paintings referred to in French as tableautins. In this area he achieved his first successes and he developed a virtuoso style comparable to that of Fortuny. • Illustration — The Entry of Roger de Flor in Constantinople In 1881 Moreno Carbonero went to study in Rome as a boarder on a stipend. After he returned to Spain, he won gold medals at the national exhibitions in 1881 with his painting The prince don Carlos de Viana and in 1884 with The Conversion of the Duke of Gandía, which he had painted during his stay in Rome. • Illustration — Almogavar Warrior. Late work (1898) based on a character from The Entry of Roger de Flor in Constantinople. As his fame grew, he received commissions from various official institutions. In 1888 the Spanish Senate commissioned from him the painting The Entry of Roger de Flor in Constantinople, which is considered one of the most spectacular artworks within the genre of historical painting and still decorate the walls of the Conference Hall in the Senate. For this large-scale painting, that depicts the Italian mercenary Roger de Flor and his troops of Almogavar warriors entering the city to relieve the Byzantine emperor from the Turkish, Moreno Carbonero extensively researched in Paris about Byzantine architecture, clothes and decoration, and he used dozens of models to recreate the complete atmosphere in the Málaga bullfighting arena. Smaller paintings derived from this work, depicting individual Almogavar warriors, are known to exist. In 1910, the Argentine Government asked him to execute a canvas with the theme of the founding of Buenos Aires to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the revolution of Argentina. King Alfonso XIII of Spain gave this work as a gift to the city of Buenos Aires. The king visited the studio of Moreno Carbonero during the creation of the work and kept in the bedroom of the Royal Palace of Madrid a design for the portrait of Juan de Garay, the founder of Buenos Aires, who was depicted in the canvas. Moreno Carbonero was also awarded in 1888 the highest award in the Vatican Exposition and participated in the International Exhibitions in Munich and Vienna. He obtained a second medal at the Exposition Universelle of Paris in 1889, a great gold medal at the Budapest International Exhibition in 1890, an honorary diploma at the Universal Exhibition of Berlin in 1891 and the only medal at the World's Columbian Exposition of Chicago in 1893. • Illustration — Sancho Panza meets his donkey From 1892 he taught as professor of live drawing at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and he was also an Academician of the same organisation. In 1924 he was made Hijo Predilecto. After his death in Madrid on 15 April 1942, his body was transferred to Málaga, where he is buried in the San Miguel cemetery. In 1958 a monument created by Mariano Benlliure was erected in the Puerta Oscura gardens to honour the artist.

• Illustration — The Conversion of the Duke of Gandía • Illustration — The Founding of Buenos Aires • Illustration — Gladiators after the Combat • Illustration — Water Carriers in the Outskirts of Alcalá de Guadaíra • Illustration — Álvaro Drake, Marquis of Villablanca • Illustration — Ca d'Oro • Illustration — A Glass of Water