66 - JOSÉ MESEGUER BENEDITO (Valencia, 1896 – Benimàmet, 1957)

JOSÉ MESEGUER BENEDITO (Valencia, 1896 – Benimàmet, 1957) "Interior with Figures." Oil on panel. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 13 x 22 cm; 24 x 32 cm (frame). A painter and printmaker, José Meseguer devoted himself primarily to miniatures; he was a prominent painter of fans and a notable printmaker. As a miniaturist, he reproduced famous paintings, such as Fortuny’s “La vicaría” and Fragonard’s “El columpio,” although he primarily tackled original themes of his own creation. He held exhibitions of his miniatures in various Spanish cities, including Barcelona, where he displayed his work at the Sala Gaspar. In 1940, his miniatures were included in a major group exhibition held in the halls of the Madrid Press Association, where works by Vázquez Díaz, Segrelles, Bertuchi, and others were also displayed. Meseguer began his career in Benimàmet and eventually settled on the avenue that has borne his name since 1949 (Avenida del Miniaturista Meseguer). Early in his career, he painted exclusively on fans, but eventually specialized in painting miniature landscapes, for which he would come to be known. In 1948, the Benimámet Felipe-Valls Campamento Falla Commission won the prize for the “pardoned ninot” for a “ninot” depicting the painter Meseguer, which is currently preserved in the Falla Museum.