Introduction to José Aparicio Inglada
When people wonder why Pablo Picasso did not write an autobiography, they recall his remark that painting serves as another kind of diary. A remarkable catalog by the critic and professor Pilar Tébar sheds light on the Alicante-born artist José Aparicio Inglada, who lived from 1770 to 1838. The work invites readers to consider the emergence of a sage painter who began in Malaga and made a lasting mark through a life filled with art and travel.
Through luminous and influential canvases, Aparicio Inglada presents his life and artistic wonders in Villa y Corte, a thoughtful journey through an intensely lived existence. The catalog spans his origins, where he labeled his early efforts as a compact body of “little work,” to the moments that shaped his later years. It also highlights a thread of Spanish history woven through many of his paintings. His career includes the opportunity to study in Paris and Rome, a turning point that occurred as he approached his thirties thanks to a pension graciously granted by Carlos. The rooms and studios of those early years helped the young artist from Alicante to encounter fellow masters and build friendships with leaders such as the neoclassicist David, the painter of Bonaparte, and the orientalist Ingres, whom Aparicio would meet during his stay in Rome.
In the city on the Tiber, Aparicio earned the title of king among exiles, becoming a beneficiary of an artistic stipend. This period coincided with the support of Carlos and María Luisa. Soon the Alicante artist earned the distinction of being elected a member of the Accademia di San Luca, a venerable Roman institution founded in 1593. The Accademia is named for the Holy Apostle Lucas, regarded in legend as the patron of painters, though he is not always remembered for his own portraits. Selecting Aparicio underscored the academy’s esteem, joining the ranks of eminent sculptors such as Bernini and Canova who were part of its history.
After a long journey and a demanding apprenticeship, José Aparicio returned to the Madrid court at the age of forty-five, following Napoleon’s defeat and the ascension of the monarch known as the VII. He would later serve as Her Majesty’s Chamber Painter and eventually hold the role of vice-president of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Yet, despite such a remarkable career, Aparicio did not immediately become recognized as a major artist by the wider public. He was sometimes criticized by liberal critics who argued that Fernandino’s close ties to absolutist power influenced his reception and reputation.
Among the visual record of Aparicio’s life is a catalog of works and a note about the exhibition in Valencia and Alicante, presented by Pilar Tébar. This catalog, illustrated by Emilio Soler, includes a catalog entry describing Aparicio’s contributions and the works shown in the exhibition in Alicante. It reflects Tébar’s deep knowledge of the artist and his oeuvre as she curated a comprehensive display that traveled to Valencia as well. The interplay between the artist’s life and his paintings is made evident in Tébar’s selection and commentary, which connect the painter’s career to the broader historical currents of his era.
Pilar Tébar, a discerning scholar of Aparicio Inglada, characterizes his work as of unequaled quality. Her analysis notes that some canvases display a tendency toward magnification and even propaganda through their references to the royal family and the political context of his time. This perspective helps explain why Aparicio enjoyed royal favor and why his artistic survival depended on his associations with the powerful. Tébar also observes, perhaps with a touch of irony, that at the end of Aparicio’s life some of his paintings fetched higher prices than works by Goya and Velázquez, underlining the painter’s standing within his own region and era. The claim is presented as part of Tébar’s documented scholarship, highlighting Aparicio as the most important Alicante artist in the early decades of the nineteenth century.
In this masterful catalog, a complete exhibition is effectively captured, and Pilar Tébar does more than recount a life and its works. She echoes the sentiment expressed by Picasso, reminding readers that painting can be a powerful record of a time lived in intensity. The work invites modern readers to see Aparicio Inglada not merely as a historical figure, but as a vivid testament to a creative life shaped by travel, patronage, and the ongoing dialogue between art and society. The catalog thus stands as a substantive contribution to the understanding of Aparicio’s place in Spanish artistic history and the broader narrative of European painting in the early nineteenth century. (Attribution: Pilar Tébar catalog and Emilio Soler’s complementary notes are cited throughout the exhibition narrative.)