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Francisco Clapera (Barcelona, 1746 – Mexico, 1810)
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Description
Francisco Clapera (Barcelona, 1746 – Mexico, 1810)
"Virgin and Child"
Oil on copper. Signed: "Fco. Clapera".
42 x 32 cm
Francisco Clapera was a Spanish painter who, after graduating from the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in 1768, spent much of his artistic career in Mexico, where he arrived via Peru during the 1770s. He participated in the founding of the Royal Academy of San Carlos, where he also taught painting. There, under the direction of Jerónimo Antonio Gil (the first director of the Academy), Clapera introduced European artistic techniques such as Contrapposto to Mexican painting. These techniques made "his casta paintings more dynamic than those of his Mexican contemporaries," as noted by Joy Davis in her work "Eighteenth-century dress and fashion in the casta paintings of Francisco Clapera" (2015).
However, in 1790, "he resigned from his position as head of painting" at the Academy, as reported by art historian Clara Bargellini, who also states that "he is known to have created the altarpiece of Our Lady of Mercy in the Sacristy of Mexico." These two quotes are taken from the publication “Dos series de pinturas de Francisco Clapera” (1994) (Two series of paintings by Francisco Clapera), in the scientific journal Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, where Bargellini reveals "fifteen paintings of the life of the Virgin and ten half-length figures of apostles [that] are currently in the bishop's office in the building annexed to the cathedral in the city of Durango"; two series bearing Clapera's signature that were previously unknown. According to the Doctor, "despite the Neoclassicism of the language, the artist's dramatic handling of light and shadow is striking."
Francisco Clapera is also known for being the author of the only complete series of caste paintings in the United States and one of the few that remain intact in the world. It is dated circa 1775, in Mexico, and consists of sixteen oils on copper, two of which are signed (inv. 2011.428.1-.16).
It has been on display at the Denver Museum of Art since 1996 and, as explained in its cataloguing information, "depicts families in domestic settings engaged in private activities, providing a rare glimpse into daily life in 18th-century Mexico. Others depict occupations and serve as a document of life in colonial times. The clothing, activities, and utensils reveal the hybridisation of 18th-century Mexican culture in its blend of European, Asian, and Mexican material culture."
The collection was one of the main attractions of the exhibition "ReVision: Art in the Americas," organised by the Denver Art Museum (October 2021 - July 2022) and, in partnership with that museum, exhibited again at the Minneapolis Institute of Art very recently (June - September 2023).
Reference bibliography:
- Bargellini, Clara. (1994). Dos series de pinturas de Francisco Clapera. “Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas” (Nº. 65), 159-178. https://dx.doi.org/10.22201/iie.18703062e.1994.65.1702
- Davis, Joy. (2015). “Eighteenth-century Dress and Fashion in the Casta Paintings of Francisco Clapera” [Master's Thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/326
- Minneapolis Institute of Art. (8th June 2023). “The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Newest Exhibition, in Partnership with the Denver Art Museum, Provides a Poignant Look into the History of Latin America”. https://new.artsmia.org/press/the-minneapolis-institute-of-arts-newest-exhibition-in-partnership-with-the-denver-art-museum-provides-a-poignant-look-into-the-history-of-latin-america
- Pierce, Donna. (2015). Descriptive file on “De Mulato, y Española, Morisco”, by Francisco Clapera. Denver Art Museum. https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2011.428.5
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Francisco Clapera (Barcelona, 1746 – Mexico, 1810)
"Virgin and Child"
Oil on copper. Signed: "Fco. Clapera".
42 x 32 cm
Francisco Clapera was a Spanish painter who, after graduating from the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in 1768, spent much of his artistic career in Mexico, where he arrived via Peru during the 1770s. He participated in the founding of the Royal Academy of San Carlos, where he also taught painting. There, under the direction of Jerónimo Antonio Gil (the first director of the Academy), Clapera introduced European artistic techniques such as Contrapposto to Mexican painting. These techniques made "his casta paintings more dynamic than those of his Mexican contemporaries," as noted by Joy Davis in her work "Eighteenth-century dress and fashion in the casta paintings of Francisco Clapera" (2015).
However, in 1790, "he resigned from his position as head of painting" at the Academy, as reported by art historian Clara Bargellini, who also states that "he is known to have created the altarpiece of Our Lady of Mercy in the Sacristy of Mexico." These two quotes are taken from the publication “Dos series de pinturas de Francisco Clapera” (1994) (Two series of paintings by Francisco Clapera), in the scientific journal Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, where Bargellini reveals "fifteen paintings of the life of the Virgin and ten half-length figures of apostles [that] are currently in the bishop's office in the building annexed to the cathedral in the city of Durango"; two series bearing Clapera's signature that were previously unknown. According to the Doctor, "despite the Neoclassicism of the language, the artist's dramatic handling of light and shadow is striking."
Francisco Clapera is also known for being the author of the only complete series of caste paintings in the United States and one of the few that remain intact in the world. It is dated circa 1775, in Mexico, and consists of sixteen oils on copper, two of which are signed (inv. 2011.428.1-.16).
It has been on display at the Denver Museum of Art since 1996 and, as explained in its cataloguing information, "depicts families in domestic settings engaged in private activities, providing a rare glimpse into daily life in 18th-century Mexico. Others depict occupations and serve as a document of life in colonial times. The clothing, activities, and utensils reveal the hybridisation of 18th-century Mexican culture in its blend of European, Asian, and Mexican material culture."
The collection was one of the main attractions of the exhibition "ReVision: Art in the Americas," organised by the Denver Art Museum (October 2021 - July 2022) and, in partnership with that museum, exhibited again at the Minneapolis Institute of Art very recently (June - September 2023).
Reference bibliography:
- Bargellini, Clara. (1994). Dos series de pinturas de Francisco Clapera. “Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas” (Nº. 65), 159-178. https://dx.doi.org/10.22201/iie.18703062e.1994.65.1702
- Davis, Joy. (2015). “Eighteenth-century Dress and Fashion in the Casta Paintings of Francisco Clapera” [Master's Thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/326
- Minneapolis Institute of Art. (8th June 2023). “The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Newest Exhibition, in Partnership with the Denver Art Museum, Provides a Poignant Look into the History of Latin America”. https://new.artsmia.org/press/the-minneapolis-institute-of-arts-newest-exhibition-in-partnership-with-the-denver-art-museum-provides-a-poignant-look-into-the-history-of-latin-america
- Pierce, Donna. (2015). Descriptive file on “De Mulato, y Española, Morisco”, by Francisco Clapera. Denver Art Museum. https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/2011.428.5
Y nos dieron las 100...
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Lots: 84
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The purchase price includes the delivery of the lots in the venue of the auction. Transporting to other destinations is at the own risk of the client. The customer must contact "LST", to give the corresponding instructions for such transporting. "LST" is not responsible for the packaging or any accident incurred during transportation.
Important Information
This auction brings us to number 100!
On this special occasion, we present a careful selection of European and New Spanish works, including a previously unpublished painting by Luca Giordano, a magnificent private collection of medieval Spanish sculpture and wonderful examples of painting and sculpture from Spanish America art among other.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we did preparing it.
With our thanks to all those who have made it possible for us to get this far.
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