JOSÉ APARICIO INGLADA Spanish painter

Putting aside a fierce liberal criticism of José Aparicio's work and rather useless attempts of the last artistic historiography to reinstate him in his merits on one side, contemplation of José Aparicio's work (Alicante, 16.12.1770-Madrid 10.5.1838) should lean on two criteria that explain his production and place it adequately in its historical context: the neoclassic taste as a result of his apprenticeship in David’s studio and his close relations with the king Fernando VII. The said criteria impart raison d'être to his most representative pictures. Making Jose Aparicio's absolutist ideology a target of their caustic remarks, the liberal critique discredited his pictures focusing exclusively on their propagandistic contents. On the other hand, nowadays some historiographers try, owing to his good techniques, to revalue him in a rather artificial way passing over or justifying the ideological contents of his works. Everything would be much easier if he were defined, apart from his artistic values, as one of the main pictorial propagandists of the reign of Fernando VII and of the very figure of the king, too, being quite conscious of the work that he was performing, with which, on the other part, he was also entirely identified. Artistically, José Aparicio is the greatest Spanish representative of the French academic Neoclassicism of the end of the 18th century being at the same time, after his stay in Paris, an obvious predecessor of the historicist painting of the second half of the 19th century, although his work cannot be classified as pertaining to that style.

José Aparicio was born in Alicante on December 16, 1770; son of Vicente Aparicio and Manuela Inglada, he was the seventh of eight brothers. He began his studies in the Saint Charles Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia until he moved to the Saint Ferdinand Academy of Madrid where he was enrolled in 1792. After four years of studies in the above mentioned Academy, in 1796, he will win the first first-class prize for the picture titled Godoy Presents Peace to Charles IV (Godoy presentando la paz a Carlos IV) about the signing of the Peace of Basilea in 1795. With this picture, which caught Godoy's fancy, he began his career as a propagandist of the monarchy and was granted an annual pension of 12,000 reales to go to Paris, which had already been contesting the supremacy of Rome as the world center of fine arts, in 1799 to continue his studies.

We know very little about his stay in Paris, apart from his apprenticeship in the studio of David, the most prominent painter of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire whose neoclassic style influenced José Aparicio greatly. There, in 1805, José Aparicio was awarded with a golden medal for his picture The Epidemic in Spain or Yellow Fiver in Valencia (La epidemia de España o La fiebre amarilla en Valencia) in which he followed the canons imposed by David and the French neoclassicists.

Around 1807 he will move to Rome to continue his apprenticeship. It will be in Rome where he will be declared as an artist supported by the Academy due to his loyalty to Joseph I. On having refused to swear allegiance to the French monarch, José Aparicio, like the rest of the Spanish artists receiving pension in Rome, was imprisoned in the Saint Angelo castle, the reason why he was granted the Cross of Civil Prisoner afterwards, in Ferdinand’s epoch. After going out of jail, bearing many hardships, he will manage to end his canvas Redemption of the Captives in Times of Charles III (Rescate de cautivos en tiempos de Carlos III). He was very praised for this work in the artistic Roman circles; it even won him the designation as an Academician of the Saint Luca Academy of Rome and, which was better for his future, the attention of Madrid government that would call upon him for his service. As a result, he will embark towards the Peninsula landing in the port of Barcelona on May 21, 1815.

Thus, Aparicio's career begins in Madrid where, soon after his arrival, on August, 1815 he is appointed Chamber Painter (Pintor de Cámara) of Ferdinand VII with an annual salary of 6.000 reales. In the same year he was designated as an Honorary Academician of the Saint Ferdinand Academy of Fine Arts. Settled in Madrid, Jose Aparicio started to work on another picture of a clear propagandistic tendency, Glory of Spain (Las Glorias de España), that will take him two years, from 1816 till 1818.

With this work he begins a whole series of canvases of great size, dedicated to patriotic and propagandistic topics that will mark the final part of his career. In 1818 he will paint Starvation in Madrid (El hambre en Madrid) and The battle of Saint Marcial (La batalla de San Marcial) will be performed in the same period. After the liberal triennium, from 1823 till 1827, he will paint his most important work, Disembarkation of Ferdinand VII in Puerto de Santa Maria (El desembarco de Fernando VII en Puerto de Santa María), today destroyed. This canvas is illustrative of the essential characteristics of his painting: enormousness of the dimensions, neoclassic technics, patriotic topic and political propaganda in the pay of the king. This work yielded him absolute recognition of the political authorities, which resulted in his designation as an Honorary Academician of the Saint Charles Academy of Valencia on February 22, 1829 and, later, as a Deputy Director of the Saint Ferdinand Royal Academy.

Though big pictures dedicated to historical topics will be the most transcendent in his artistic production, José Aparicio was also an outstanding portrayer of the ruling elite of his epoch (Ferdinand VII, Marquis de las Amarillas, General Castaños...) and did not disdain the religious subjects, though they are far from occupying a considerable place in his work.

With the death of Ferdinand VII José Aparicio's star declined. His figure of an official propagandist of the Monarchy was regarded coldly by the liberal people that supported Maria Christina in her ascent to the regency, so he was retired with an annual pension of 3,000 reales as "opposed to S. M.”(Su Majestad, His Majesty) on December 31, 1835. He spent the rest of his life litigating against the Royal Treasury for the arrears of his salary until his death in Madrid on May 10, 1838.