Romantic landscape painting as an Expression of National Fantasy

The Galician artist Genaro Pérez Villaamil (1807-1854), the father of Spanish landscape painting, enjoyed royal patronage in Spain and attracted international clients and critics. His premature death was perceived as a major loss by the Spanish art world and reported in the international press. Yet, today, Villaamil is hardly known outside Spain. The purpose of this talk is therefore twofold: first, it will address the prejudiced positions that underpin the current understanding of the place (or absence) of Spanish artists, such as Villaamil, in narratives of nineteenth-century European art. Second, it will examine Villaamil’s landscape paintings as an expression of a cultural nationalism and consider their significance within the wider context of European painting. This event relates to the exhibition España romántica: David Roberts y Genaro Pérez Villaamil (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, 6 Oct. 2021 – 16 Jan. 2022).