Luis Egidio Meléndez

Luis Egidio Meléndez (Naples, 1716-Madrid, 1780) was a Spanish painter. Although he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized today as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. His mastery of composition and light, and his remarkable ability to convey the volume and texture of individual objects enabled him to transform the most mundane of kitchen fare into powerful images.

Life

Luis Egidio Meléndez de Rivera Durazo y Santo Padre was born in Naples in 1716. His father, Francisco Meléndez de Rivera Diaz (1682- after 1758), was a miniaturist painter from Oviedo [ “The Majesty of Spain”: Jana Martin edit, p. 76] who had moved to Madrid with his older brother, the portrait painter Miguel Jacinto Meléndez (1679-1734) in pursuit of artistic instruction. [ “Luis Meléndez”: Eleanor Tufts, p. 10] Whereas Miguel remained in Madrid to study and became a painter in the court of Philip V, Francisco left for Italy in 1699 to seek greater artistic exposure. Francisco took a special interest in visiting the Italian academies and settled in Naples where he married Maria Josefa Durazo y Santo Padre Barrille. [ “Luis Meléndez”: Eleanor Tufts, p. 10] Luis was a year old when his father, who had been a soldier in a Spanish garrison and lived abroad for almost two decades, returned to Madrid with the family. Luis Egidio, his brother José Agustín, and Ana, one of his sisters, began their careers under the tutelage of their father, who was appointed the King’s Painter of Miniatures in 1725. [ “The Majesty of Spain”: Jana Martin edit, p. 76] After several years, in his words: "painting royal portraits in jewels and bracelets to serve as gifts for envoys and ambassadors", he entered the workshop of Louis Michel van Loo (1707-1771), a Frenchman who had been made royal painter of Philip V of Spain. Between 1737 to 1742, Meléndez worked as a part of a team of artist dedicated to copying van Loo's prototypes of royal portraits for the domestic and overseas market, but at least he had a foothold in the palace. He had his artistic sights on a distinguished career as a court painter.

When the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando was provisionally inaugurated in 1744, his father, Francisco, was made an honorary director of painting and Luis was among the first students to be admitted, he achieved outstanding results in drawing. The Academy was progressive in that it not only tolerated but also encouraged the 'lesser' genres, including still life. At this time, he was already an accomplished painter as proved by his superb self-portrait at the Louvre signed in 1747. However, this opportunity was marred by a petty quarrel; Luis’ father, Francisco, openly attacked the director of the Academy and claimed for himself the honor of being the founder. He had his son Luis personally delivered the inflammatory material to the Academy. Francisco was relived of his teaching position and Luis was formally expelled from the Academy on June 15, 1748. Unlike his father, Luis professional status was precarious. Young and self-righteous, he now lacked the support of the Academy and his reputation suffered. Subsequently the young artist left for Rome and Naples to pursue other opportunities, he stayed in Italy from 1748 to 1752, painting some works, now lost, for Charles III of Spain [ “The Majesty of Spain”: Jana Martin edit, p. 76] , who was then King of Naples.

After a fire at the Alcázar of Madrid in 1753 destroyed scores of illuminated choir books, Francisco Melendez coaxed his 37-year-old son to come back to Spain to help paint new miniatures. Though Luis Meléndez eventually executed scores of still-lifes for the royal household, he was never able to secure an official appointment to serve the king.Luis Meléndez worked out of Madrid and initially painted an array of subjects. In 1760 Meléndez' petition for the position of court painter was refused, despite the caliber of his early works. He painted some religious works but after 1760, he began specializing in still life, a decorative genre that could be produced without commission and was therefore lucrative for artists without royal patronage or the support of the Academy. Between 1759 and 1772, he created at least 44 still-lifes for the private museum of natural history belonging to the Prince of Asturias, later King Charles IV of Spain. Of this paintings thirty nine are today in the Museo del Prado, it is rare to find his work outside of Spain.

Despite his talent, Luis Meléndez lived in poverty for most of his life, in 1772 in a letter to the king he declared that he only owned his pencils. Unappreciated in his time, when he died in 1780, he was indigent.

Bodegón Style

Luis Meléndez updated and enriched the austere tradition of Spanish still life painting, which had been initiated by the 17th-century masters Juan Sánchez Cotán and Francisco de Zurbarán. Like them, Meléndez, studied light effects, texture and the color of fruits and vegetables as well as the earthenware, glass and copper pots beside which the fruit is displayed. Unlike the seventeenth-century masters, however, his subject matter is presented physically closer to the viewer, at a lower vantage point, encouraging the spectator to study the objects for themselves. This exploration was in keeping with the growing spirit of Enlightenment and the king's interest in natural history. Meléndez painted his still-lifes with a serious sense of reverence. The grand themes did not attract him, but the ordinary stuff of every day life, which he studied with an enormous visual interest in the every day normality of form. Each still-life painting by Meléndez is visually arresting and compelling and reveals a wonderful technical skill at constructing compositions. Meléndez conveyed the solidity and precise texture of objects in artful compositions of great sophistication. He employed a low vantage point and close-up view of objects placed on a tabletop to give his forms an unprecedented monumentality. The use of strong lighting to bring out the volume of the objects enhanced his extraordinary descriptive skill.

Meléndez seems to have spent more time lighting his scenes than preparing pigments for his palette. He loved painting reflections on the surfaces, edges, and rims of lemons, copper pots, ceramic bowls, plums, and melons. This contributes to the lively character and rhythm of his work. Luis Meléndez described his works as 'an amusing cabinet with all types of foodstuffs that the Spanish climate produces'

Among his works outside el Museo del Prado are: "Still life with Oranges, Walnuts and Boxes of Sweetmeats" (National Gallery, London); "Still life with a Plate of Plums, Pears and Fruit Basket" (Masaveu Collection, Museo de Bellas Artes, Asturias) and Still life with Red Breams and Oranges (Private Collection).

Notes

Note: Luis Menéndez Pidal (1860–1932) is an unrelated modern genre painter from Spain.

Bibliography

* Garrido, Carmen, Cherry, Peter, "Luis Meléndez: La serie de bodegones para el Príncipe de Asturias: Estudio Técnico", Museo del Prado, 2004, ISBN 848480058X .
*Martin, Jana (editor),"The Majesty of Spain: Royal collections from the Museo del Prado & the Patrimonio Nacional", Mississippi Commission for International Cultural Exchange, Inc.
*Tufts, Eleanor, " Luis Meléndez : Spanish Still-Life Painter of the Eighteenth Century”. Exhibition Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas 1985, ISBN 0826204295
*cite book| first=Pedro de| last=Madrazo| year=1872| title=Catálogo Descriptivo e Histórico del Museo del Prado de Madrid (Parte Primera: Escuelas Italianas y Españolas)| editor = | pages= page 452| publisher=M. Rivadeneyra|location=Calle del Duque de Osuna #3; Original from Oxford University, Digitized May 1, 2007| id=|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Tu8HAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP7&dq=Catalogo+Prado+Madrazo&as_brr=1| authorlink=