Bernardino Montañés Pérez

Place: Zaragoza

Born: 1825

Death: 1893

Biography:

Bernardino Montañés Pérez (20 May 1825 – 6 January 1893) was an Aragonese painter. He was born in Zaragoza, Spain and began studying art at the School of Fine Arts in Zaragoza. He later studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid and received a scholarship from the government of Isabella II to complete his artistic training in Rome from 1848 to 1852. While in Rome, he became friends with fellow artists Felipe Moratilla, Carlos Múgica, Francisco Lameyer, Francisco Jareño, Patricio Patiño and Miguel Floyxench. In the 1850s, he traveled to Italy, Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, Belgium and France. Upon his return to Spain, he became an assistant drawing teacher at the Madrid Academy, until becoming full professor in 1859 and director in 1886. He also served as curator of the Zaragoza Museum for several years. Montañés' work has been considered eclectic, combining elements of neoclassicism and rococo. He was highly sought after by Aragonese society and most of his artistic output was portraits and religious paintings. An important aspect of his work was developed around 1872, when the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar was completed. Montañés was asked to paint some pictures of the main dome, and ended up painting around six. Among these stands out is Coronation of the Virgin. Today, his work can be found in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and Prado Museum, both in Madrid, and in the collection of the Provincial Deputation of Zaragoza.