Martin Rico y Ortega Painting Reproductions 2 of 2

Martín Rico y Ortega was born in El Escorial on November 12, 1833, and would become one of Spain’s most celebrated landscape and cityscape painters of the 19th century. His journey through life - and art - is a story of constant evolution, guided by a restless curiosity and a deep love for painting en plein air. From the rugged hillsides outside Madrid to the luminous waterways of Venice, Rico’s work captures the essence of place, light, and life in a way that resonates long after his time.

He received his earliest formal training at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, studying under the Romantic painter Jenaro Pérez Villaamil. Those early years shaped Rico’s love for landscape, but his style was still in flux. It was his move to Paris in 1860, made possible by a government scholarship, that marked the beginning of his transformation. In France, he found inspiration in the Barbizon school - particularly in the works of Charles-François Daubigny. The French countryside, with its quiet pastoral beauty, gave Rico a new language in painting, one steeped in Realism and rich in detail.

But as political tensions rose in France with the Franco-Prussian War, Rico returned to Spain, and it was here, in the company of his friend Marià Fortuny, that his art truly began to glow. Granada - with its brilliant light and Moorish architecture - became a playground for his experiments with color and luminosity. Fortuny’s influence is unmistakable in these works, and the two artists often collaborated, their watercolor scenes sometimes indistinguishable from one another.

Yet it was Venice, that floating dream of a city, which would leave the deepest mark on Rico. He first visited in 1873, and the city’s radiant light, shimmering canals, and architectural splendor captivated him. Over the next three decades, he would return almost every summer, painting scenes that have since become emblematic of his career. From his room in Dorsoduro or a gondola anchored on a canal, he observed the dance of sunlight on water and stone. His Venetian scenes, rooted in the vedute tradition, blended precision with atmosphere, often rivaling the works of his contemporaries like Édouard Manet and John Singer Sargent.

Rico’s friendship with the Peruvian painter Federico del Campo further solidified his role in this vibrant artistic community. Together, they worked on Venetian views that were highly sought after by collectors, reflecting the growing international fascination with the city.

Martín Rico y Ortega passed away in Venice on April 13, 1908, at the age of 74. Fittingly, he was laid to rest in the city that had become his artistic home, on the peaceful island of San Michele. His work remains a testament to his lifelong love for capturing the fleeting beauty of light and landscape.