As the son and grandson of painters, he was oriented towards a career in art from childhood, beginning studies at the Academia de San Carlos in his native Valencia in 1785. His considerable gifts for drawing soon led to several academic prizes and a scholarship to the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. There, he was influenced by the work of Anton Raphael Mengs, Francisco Bayeu, Mariano Salvador Maella, Gregorio Ferro and Luis Paret, whose styles he was able to merge with the late Baroque training he had received in Valencia. This combination favoured his extraordinary mastery of drawing and a notable capacity for composition. The academic prizes he won in Madrid proved useful after he returned to Valencia in 1793, as he was commissioned to paint numerous religious canvases and frescoes. When Charles IV visited that city in 1802, López painted an allegorical portrait of him. The monarch was so pleased with the result that he appointed López to the post of court painter and summoned him to Madrid. From then until his death, he was a fundamental figure on the Spanish art scene, outstanding not only for the importance of his commissions, but also for his participation in leading official and administrative projects. He was appointed Director of Painting at the Academia de San Fernando in 1819, directed the Escuela Real de Pintura, and played a fundamental role in the shaping and organisation of the Museo del Prado, of which he was the first artistic director.
His catalogue is quite varied, including around nine hundred paintings – mostly religious images that reflect late Baroque and Neoclassical styles, but also a number of allegorical paintings and frescoes for royal residences or churches. He made numerous portraits, mainly of members of the royal family, leading noblemen or statesmen. Some of these, including his likeness of Goya (Museo del Prado, Madrid), reveal a strong capacity for psychological insight, and all of them are characterised by an outstanding realism, precise drawing, a capacity to reproduce the textures of textiles and particular care in depicting clothing and accessories. He also made an outstanding number of drawings for engravings, mostly as book illustrations. He has over five hundred known drawings and close to three hundred prints based on his designs.
The versatility and quality of his work made him the finest Spanish artist of his generation, and the abundance and quality of his portraits make his catalogue one of the main references for grasping the ideals, ambitions and expectations of Spanish society in the first half of the nineteenth century, especially in official circles.
As the son and grandson of painters, he was oriented towards a career in art from childhood, beginning studies at the Academia de San Carlos in his native Valencia in 1785. His considerable gifts for drawing soon led to several academic prizes and a scholarship to the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. There, he was influenced by the work of Anton Raphael Mengs, Francisco Bayeu, Mariano Salvador Maella, Gregorio Ferro and Luis Paret, whose styles he was able to merge with the late Baroque training he had received in Valencia. This combination favoured his extraordinary mastery of drawing and a notable capacity for composition. The academic prizes he won in Madrid proved useful after he returned to Valencia in 1793, as he was commissioned to paint numerous religious canvases and frescoes. When Charles IV visited that city in 1802, López painted an allegorical portrait of him. The monarch was so pleased with the result that he appointed López to the post of court painter and summoned him to Madrid. From then until his death, he was a fundamental figure on the Spanish art scene, outstanding not only for the importance of his commissions, but also for his participation in leading official and administrative projects. He was appointed Director of Painting at the Academia de San Fernando in 1819, directed the Escuela Real de Pintura, and played a fundamental role in the shaping and organisation of the Museo del Prado, of which he was the first artistic director.
His catalogue is quite varied, including around nine hundred paintings – mostly religious images that reflect late Baroque and Neoclassical styles, but also a number of allegorical paintings and frescoes for royal residences or churches. He made numerous portraits, mainly of members of the royal family, leading noblemen or statesmen. Some of these, including his likeness of Goya (Museo del Prado, Madrid), reveal a strong capacity for psychological insight, and all of them are characterised by an outstanding realism, precise drawing, a capacity to reproduce the textures of textiles and particular care in depicting clothing and accessories. He also made an outstanding number of drawings for engravings, mostly as book illustrations. He has over five hundred known drawings and close to three hundred prints based on his designs.
The versatility and quality of his work made him the finest Spanish artist of his generation, and the abundance and quality of his portraits make his catalogue one of the main references for grasping the ideals, ambitions and expectations of Spanish society in the first half of the nineteenth century, especially in official circles.