early life and education

valentín carderera y solano, a renowned spanish painter, erudite scholar, and collector, was born on february 14, 1796, in huesca, spain. he attended the universidad sertoriana de huesca, where he studied philosophy, followed by drawing in zaragoza with buenaventura salesa and painting in madrid at the royal academy of arts, under the tutelage of mariano salvador maella and josé de madrazo.

career highlights

* in 1822, carderera received a grant to study in rome, courtesy of josé de palafox, duke of villahermosa, which enabled him to travel extensively throughout italy until 1831. * upon his return to spain, he was commissioned in 1836 to create an inventory of nationalized art from suppressed monasteries in castile. * carderera became a governing member of the museo real de pintura y escultura board in 1838 and a member of the real academia de bellas artes de san fernando, where he taught art history from 1843.

notable works and publications

* iconografía española (1855, enlarged in 1864), a large anthology of portraits of famous spaniards throughout history, constitutes his magnum opus. * he edited the first edition of discursos practicables del nobilísimo arte de la pintura by jusepe martínez in 1866. * carderera authored catálogo y descripción sumaria de retratos antiguos... coleccionados por d. valentin carderera y solano, published in 1877.

collection and legacy

* as a collector, carderera was particularly fond of francisco de goya's drawings and engravings, owning a large collection of them. * he wrote the first substantial biography of goya, published in el artista in 1835.

• view valentín carderera y solano's artworks on ArtsDot.com
• read more about valentín carderera y solano on wikipedia
• discover the museo de bellas artes de asturias, featuring european art from the 12th to the early 20th century

valentín carderera y solano passed away on march 25, 1880, in madrid, leaving behind a legacy as a spanish painter, erudite scholar, and collector.