José Aparicio

JOSÉ APARICIO INGLADA (Alicante, 1770-Madrid, 1838)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the middle right area.
Measurements. 44 x 31 cm; 56 x 43 cm (frame).
His first artistic studies were made at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia, where he won the first prize for painting in 1793.
Later he attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. In 1796, his painting of Manuel Godoy presenting the Peace (the Peace of Basel) to King Charles IV earned him a scholarship from the King to study in Paris and Rome[1]. In Paris, he was the first Spanish student of Jacques-Louis David. He won a gold medal for his painting "Yellow fever in Valencia" in 1805.

He traveled to Rome in 1807 and, on several occasions, refused to swear allegiance to the new king, Joseph I. Because of this, he and other like-minded Spaniards there were virtual prisoners at Castel Sant'Angelo, until Ferdinand was restored to the throne in 1813.After regaining his freedom, he was recalled to Spain, where he arrived in 1815. After a few months, he settled in Madrid, having been appointed court painter to Ferdinand VII.