Gutiérrez de la Vega y Bocanegra, José (Seville, 1781-Madrid, 1865) Spanish school of the 18th century Oil on canvas measurements: 130 X 95 cm, framed measurements: 150 X 119 cm (Seville, 1781-Madrid, 1865). Spanish painter specialized in portraits and religious themes. He was an honorary chamber painter, professor and deputy director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungary in Seville and member of the Board of Directors of the Liceo Artístico y Literario de Madrid. He began his training at the Sevillian Academy of Fine Arts, alternating his studies with his work in his father's engraver and carver workshop, in addition to dedicating himself to making copies of the great Baroque masters, especially Murillo. . In 1828 he moved to Cádiz, where he met the English consul, Mr. W. Brackenbury, whom he portrayed with his wife and daughters in 1830. A year later he entered the competition organized by La Gaceta to further his studies in Madrid, obtaining first prize; As a result of this event, he moved to Madrid in the company of Antonio Esquivel, working as a professor of elementary studies at the Royal Academy of San Fernando. He regularly participated in competitions and exhibitions, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid in 1832 and 1835, as well as at the Madrid Lyceum in 1837, among others. His works are characterized by the use of a romantic language, with a predominance of drawing over stain and a vaporousness of tones and fleshiness of Murillo influence. Starting in the 1830s, he dedicated himself to creating portraits for the aristocracy, the political and intellectual classes, and royalty. Reference bibliography: Valverde Madrid, José, «On the centenary of the painter José Gutiérrez de la Vega», Spanish Art, vol. XXV, 2nd fasc., Madrid, 1963-1967, p. 119.