Aureliano de Beruete Facts for Kids

Aureliano de Beruete; portrait by Joaquín Sorolla (1902)

Aureliano de Beruete (born September 27, 1845, in Madrid; died January 5, 1912, in Madrid) was a talented Spanish artist. He was known for painting beautiful landscapes, writing about art, and working to improve society.

Aureliano de Beruete's Life Story
Aureliano de Beruete's Writings
Selected paintings
See also

Aureliano de Beruete's Life Story

Aureliano de Beruete grew up in Madrid in a well-off family. His family wanted him to study law, so he earned a law degree from the University of Madrid in 1867. He even served as a Deputy (like a member of parliament) in the Spanish government for two years, in 1871 and 1872.

Becoming an Artist

Even though he studied law, Aureliano loved art more. He started taking art lessons at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. There, he learned from a famous artist named Carlos de Haes. Because he had enough money, he could spend all his time painting.

One of his first paintings showed "Orbajosa," an imaginary village from a famous Spanish novel called Doña Perfecta. Beruete gave this painting as a gift to the author, Benito Pérez Galdós. Later, he traveled to Paris, France. In Paris, he learned about a painting style called plein-air (which means painting outdoors) from artist Martín Rico.

Teaching and Traveling

For many years, Beruete was a teacher at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. He even helped to start this important school. He is often connected to a group of thinkers and artists called the Generation of '98. This group wanted to improve Spain.

Beruete also supported scientific meetings and trips. He even joined a trip across the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. This trip gave him ideas for many of his paintings. Throughout his life, he loved to travel and show his art in exhibitions. In 1900, he received a special award called the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Later Years and Legacy

In his later years, Aureliano de Beruete wrote several short books about painting and painters. One of his most important books was about the famous Spanish artist Diego Velázquez. This book was published in Paris in 1898. Many of the great Spanish artists of his time were his friends.

After Beruete passed away in 1912, his friend Joaquín Sorolla organized the first special show of Beruete's paintings. This show was held at Sorolla's own house. Beruete's son, Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, also became an art critic and historian. He was even the director of the famous Museo del Prado from 1918 to 1922.