Quintana Olleros

Blas Olleros y Quintana (1851 Avila, Spain − 1919 Florence, Italy) (alternative names: Olleros Quintana, Quintana Olleros, Bias Olleros y Quintana)[1] was a Spanish figure painter and landscape painter who worked primarily in Italy as a watercolorist. He is best known for his Neapolitan scenes and Orientalist works.

Quintana Olleras
Born
Blas Olleros y Quintana

1851
Ávila, Spain
Died1919
Florence, Italy
NationalitySpanish
Known forWatercolourist
MovementOrientalist themes

Life and career

Blas Olleros was born in Piedrahita, in the Province of Ávila in central-Western Spain, (approximately 60 km south of Salamanca and 200 km from Madrid) in 1851.[2] In 1874, the Avila City Council awarded a grant to Olleros enabling him to further his art education in Rome.[3] In his first year in Rome, he completed the work, Nerón En un Jardin Recitando Rodeado de su Corte [Nero in a Garden Setting, Surrounded by his Court]. After completing his studies, he relocated to Paris for three years. During this period, he became acquainted with the Spanish portrait and genre painter, Palmaroli who influenced Olleros’ work.[4]

In 1881, he returned to Rome where he met the Spanish painter, Agustin Salinas and the pair became great friends. For much of the 1880s, Olleros resided in Naples, where he was known as “Il Improvvisatore” [The Improviser].[5] He adopted Italy as his new homeland, remaining there for most of his adult life.[6][7]

In 1883, he sold two works, Una Pompeyana ("A Pompeii woman") and Una Marina ("Seascape"), through Hernández in Madrid, a commercial gallery that specialised in the sale of watercolours. After that his work was sold primarily through Hernández, although some works were also sold through foreign dealers notably German and French agents.[8]

In his later years, he resided in Florence and died there in 1919.[9]

Harem Scene, 1915

Work

His subject matter was varied and included landscapes, seascapes, figures, genre and historical scenes. A great deal of his work focused on Neapolitan scenery, especially harbour scenes.[10] He worked in oil and watercolour and typically signed his works "Blas Olleros".[11] His most well-known painting is Harem Scene (pictured) has been reproduced in many texts.

  • Italian women adorned
    Italian women adorned
  • Children on a boat aground
    Children on a boat aground
  • Festive Italian Fishing Boats
    Festive Italian Fishing Boats
  • Little Fishermen
    Little Fishermen
  • Roman Countryside
    Roman Countryside
  • Marina
    Marina
  • Rowing boats off the coast
    Rowing boats off the coast
  • In a Persian Bath
    In a Persian Bath

See also

References
  1. Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary, Volume 4, Hall, 1996
  2. Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary, Volume 4, Hall, 1996, p. 378
  3. Ossorio y Bernard, Manuel (1883–1884). «Olleros y Quintana (D. Blas)». Galería biográfica de Artistas Españoles del Siglo XIX, Madrid, Imprenta de Moreno y Rojas, (translated from Spanish), p. 491
  4. González, C. and Martí, M., Pintores Españoles en Roma (1850–1900), Tusquets, 1987, p. 267
  5. Meridione: Sud e Nord nel Mondo, Vol. 2, Nos. 1–3, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 2002, p. 40
  6. Cistarista Romana”, L'Illustrazione Popolare vol. 26, 1889, p. 7 Internet Archive (translated from Italian)
  7. Given that Olleros spent most of his working life in Italy, certain texts have listed him as an Italian painter. See, for example, Witt Library of the Courtauld Institute (ed.), Checklist of Painters from 1200–1994, Routledge, 2014, p. 381 and Bevard, E.R., Art at Auction in America 1994 Edition, Krexpress, 1994, p. 180
  8. González, C. and Martí, M., Pintores Españoles en Roma (1850–1900), Tusquets, 1987, p. 267; Ossorio y Bernard, Manuel (1883–1884). «Olleros y Quintana (D. Blas)», Galería Biográfica de Artistas Españoles del Siglo XIX , [A Compendium of Biographies of Spanish Artists of the Nineteenth Century], Madrid, Moreno y Rojas Press, (translated from Spanish), p. 491
  9. ”Olleros y Quintana” in Ossorio y Bernard, M., Galería Biográfica de Artistas Españoles del Siglo XIX [A Compendium of Biographies of Spanish Artists of the Nineteenth Century], Madrid, Moreno y Rojas Press, 1883–84; Rinaldi, R., Pittori a Napoli nell'Ottocento, Naples, Libri & libri, 2001, p. 193
  10. Rinaldi, R., Pittori a Napoli nell'Ottocento, Naples, Libri & libri, 2001, p. 193
  11. Van Wilder, F., Signatures et Monogrammes d'artistes des XIXe et XXe Siècles, Editiones Van Wilder, 1998, p. 270
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