Ventura Álvarez Sala Vigil

VENTURA ÁLVAREZ SALA VIGIL (Gijón, 1869-1919)
Untitled.
Oil on canvas.
It has Repainting and damage to the frame.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 60 x 46 cm; 71 x 56 cm (frame).
As in the rest of Europe, the portrait became in the XIX century the protagonist genre par excellence of the Spanish painting, as a consequence of the new social structures, embodying the maximum expression of the transformation of the taste and the mentality of the new bourgeois clientele. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, for their reserved enjoyment in the intimacy of a studio, in the daily heat of a family cabinet or presiding over the main halls of the house.
Ventura Álvarez Gil began his academic training as a disciple in the workshop of El Vizcaíno. Later he enrolled in the art school of Gijón until he decided in 1890 to move to Madrid to complete his academic training. In the capital he received the teachings and influences of Manuel Ojeda. During this period he participated in several exhibitions in which he received several honorable mentions. He was awarded the Rome scholarship by the Casino de Gijón. Later he returned to his hometown, where he established his studio.