Aureliano de Beruete y Moret was born into an aristocratic family. He studied law in Madrid and received his doctorate in 1867. After a brief period as a member of parliament in 1874 he took classes in landscape painting at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando under Carlos de Haes, who strongly influenced his decision to take up plein-air landscape painting. In 1878 he moved to Paris, where he became interested in the painting of the Barbizon School and in Impressionism. He was a tireless traveller, and visited museums and exhibition all over Europe and America. But it was on the landscape of Castile, especially views of Toledo, the outskirts of Madrid and the Guadarrama Mountains, that he focused in his own work. In this he was directly influenced by Diego Velázquez, who had painted the very same landscapes. Indeed, he published a detailed study on Velázquez in Paris in 1898. From a Regenerationist viewpoint, his landscapes are seen as a visual expression of the values promoted by the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, set up in 1877, of which he was a founder member. His works denote his interest in capturing atmospheric qualities and effects of light, but in the early 20^th century his technique shifted from precise, meticulous brush strokes to a looser, more free-flowing style, possibly due to the influence of his friend the Valencia-born painter Joaquín Sorolla. The latter’s home-studio in Madrid was the venue for a posthumous exhibition of Beruete’s work in 1912.

He took part in several national fine arts exhibitions, winning third-place medals in 1878 and 1884, second-place medals in 1901 and 1904 and another third-place medal at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. Outside Spain, his work was shown in cities Paris, Rome and Brussels. He was appointed a Knight and Officer of the French Legion of Honour and a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. His work has recently been shown at a group exhibition at the Municipal Foundation for Culture of Valladolid City Council (2016).

Roberto Díaz