Антонио Гисберт

Antonio Gisbert

1834-1901

Biography

Gisbert was a Spanish artist. He was born in Alcoy on December 19, 1834. He began his artistic studies in Madrid in 1846, when he was twelve years old. Antonio became the Director of the Museo del Prado in Madrid in 1868. He stayed in that position until 1873, when he resigned because of opposition to the new First Spanish Republic. He moved permanently to Paris and died there on November 27, 1901.

Paintings

Gisbert’s paintings are a mix between the realist and romantic movements in art. He was known for painting pictures of important events in a country's history in a realistic style, yet clearly with a political aim as well; his variance in styles puts him in the Spanish eclectic school of painters. He generally tried to promote liberal causes in his politics and paintings.

Execution of Torrijos and his companions on the Beach at Málaga

In a gesture that was uncommon in that period’s art policies, minister of Development Eugenio Montero Ríos ordered Gisbert to paint a large history painting depicting the defense of freedom for future generations. The subject intended to convey that defense was the execution of general Torrijos and his closest followers, who had been the leaders of the constitutional regime during the Spanish revolution. It was followed by Ferdinand’s iron absolutism, including the persecution, imprisonment and execution of the previous government’s leaders and followers.

This was the most important commission Gisbert ever received. He brought the best of his art to it: pure academicism, precise drawing, and a powerful composition. The painting represents different feelings of those who are about to die, reflected in their faces as mixtures of concern, detachment and rage in some; desperate prayers or emotional embraces, in others. Thus he conveys the different reactions of human souls to the awareness of their inescapable death, as they contemplate their companions lying dead at their feet.