Asensio Julià Facts for Kids

For the Spanish writer, see Julia de Asensi

Portraits of Julià by Goya

1798

1814

Asensio Julià i Alvarracín (born around 1759 or 1760 in Valencia, died in 1832 in Madrid) was a Spanish painter and engraver. He was often called El Pescadoret, which means "The Little Fisherman." This nickname came from his family background. Asensio Julià was very close to the famous artist Francisco de Goya.

About Asensio Julià
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About Asensio Julià

Asensio Julià was born in a seaside neighborhood called Cañamelar. People believed his father was a fisherman, which is how he got his nickname, "The Little Fisherman."

When he was 11 years old, in 1771, he started studying art at the Real Academia de San Carlos in Valencia. He continued his studies there until 1775.

At 19, Asensio Julià joined the fight against pirates along the coast of North Africa. He fought for almost two years. He had to stop because he became ill and lost his hearing.

Later, he moved to Madrid. There, he worked with another artist named Mariano Salvador Maella. This is how he briefly met Goya for the first time. In 1783, Julià became a teacher at a school called Escuela Real de la Merced. This school was connected to a bigger art school, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. He also applied to continue his own studies at the main Academia. In 1818, he became the director of the Escuela Real de la Merced.

In 1790, Julià was living back in his old neighborhood in Valencia. Goya came to Valencia to get better after being sick. It was during this time that Julià and Goya became good friends. Goya was also losing his hearing, which might have helped them connect.

In 1798, Goya got a big job to paint frescoes in a church called the Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida. Goya's health was still not good, so he sometimes asked Julià to help him. A painting Goya made of Julià shows they were still in touch as late as 1814.

Asensio Julià was not very ambitious. He was happy with the art jobs he got from local wealthy people. We don't have many confirmed paintings by him. Most of his works show military scenes or ideas through symbols. One of his paintings, The Castaway, was thought to be by Goya until the early 1900s. This was confusing because Julià was known to copy Goya's works. Some of Julià's paintings were turned into engravings by Rafael Esteve, who also worked with Goya.

It seems Julià never married or had children. There are different ideas about when he was born, some say as early as 1746 or as late as 1767. While most sources say he died in Madrid, this is not fully certain. Some even say he died in 1816.

In 2008, an art expert from the Museo del Prado suggested that a famous painting by Goya, called The Colossus, might actually be by Julià. This caused a lot of discussion around the world. After about a year, it was decided that Goya was indeed the artist. In 2010, many of Julià's works were shown in a special art show in Valencia.