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Lot description
ARTURO MICHELENA (Venezuela, 1863 - 1898). "Angels with flowers". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. With restorations. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 99 x 75,5 cm. In this oil painting on canvas the painter presents us with a theme of a kind and tender character, since the scene is played by some children, portrayed as nymphs who come in procession to deliver flowers. This image of candour is reinforced by the presence of the first figure, who raises his arms as if trying to reach out to the viewer. The natural scenery develops in depth thanks to the presence of the bodies that create a kind of zigzag with their disposition, which is enveloped in a vaporous sky that seems to be the base of these children. A renowned 19th-century Venezuelan painter, considered one of the greatest of the century, Arturo Michelena showed exceptional artistic talent as a child, and in fact at the age of only fourteen he had already received his first commission, the illustration of a book on Venezuelan customs. Born in the northern town of Valencia, he was the son and grandson of painters (Juan Antonio Michelena and Pedro Castillo), and received his first artistic lessons from his aunt, Edelmira Michelena. He later studied at the Lisandro Ramírez and Alejo Zuloaga schools. He began to paint in his childhood, under the tutelage of his father, and in his youth he produced ambitious works such as "Cupido dormido", "Brayan Triana", "En tus brazos" and "Judit y Holofernes". Francisco de Sales, author of the book "Costumbres Venezolanas" which the precocious artist illustrated, took him under his protection and introduced him to the circle of friends of Antonio Guzmán Blanco, in order to obtain a scholarship for him. Shortly afterwards he continued his training with a French lady, Constance de Sauvage, a pupil of the French painter Eugène Deveria. From her he learned how to distribute colours better, to make the most of light and to use new technical resources. Between 1879 and 1882 the young painter, in partnership with his father, opened an art academy in his native Valencia, where they worked as commissioned portraitists. During these formative years Michelena produced all kinds of works, from murals to copies of old paintings, as well as an abundant output of drawings. Finally, the young man successfully took part in the Salon of the Centenary of the birth of Simón Bolívar, held in Caracas. There he presented his first important canvas, "La entrega de la bandera al batallón sin nombre" (1883), which won him second prize in the competition. He then travelled to Paris thanks to a scholarship, in the company of Martín Tovar. There he studied at the Académie Julian and in the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens. Success soon came to him, and he became the first painter to achieve it outside Venezuela, together with Cristóbal Rojas and his travelling companion, Tovar. His first great success came at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris in 1887. Encouraged by his teacher, Laurens, Michelena presented a canvas entitled "L'enfant malade" which won him the Gold Medal, the highest honour the Association of French Artists had ever given to a foreign artist. The painting became famous and was acquired shortly afterwards by an important New York collector. A second stage of his career developed between 1885 and 1889. He painted "An Election Visit" (1886), "Charity" (1887), "The Young Mother" (1889) and "Charlotte Corday" (1889). The latter painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon and at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 in Paris, where it was awarded the Gold Medal. That same year he returned to Venezuela and was received with great jubilation. He spends a period in Caracas surrounded by social success, marries and finally returns to Paris, where the third period of his career begins.