Antonio Maria Esquivel Suarez de Urbina - Contemporary Poets [1846]

Antonio Maria Esquivel Suarez de Urbina - Contemporary Poets [1846], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The most famous painting of Esquivel and a capital piece of Spanish Romanticism. Considered the most graphic testimony to the intellectual environment during the reign of Isabel II (1830-1904), this canvas fictitiously joins the most relevant contemporary cultural personalities of Esquivel. This work was first presented at the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of San Fernando in 1846. It comes from the Ministry of Development, from where it went to the Prado by Royal Order of April 17, 1886.

Antonio Maria Esquivel Suarez de Urbina (Seville, March 8, 1806 - Madrid, April 9, 1857) was a Spanish painter who specialised in romantic themes and portraits. In 1839 the artist suffered an illness that left him virtually blind. He attempted suicide by jumping into the river Guardalquivir. Thanks to a prestigious French ophthalmologist, his sight was restored in 1840.

[Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid - Oil on canvas, 144 x 217 cm]