José Benlliure y Gil

José Benlliure y Gil, also known in Catalan as Josep Benlliure i Gil, was a Spanish painter born in Valencia in 1855 and died in that city in 1937. Born into a family of artists, he was born in Valencia’s Cabañal-Cañamelar district; his father, Juan Antonio, was a decorative painter specialising in floral ornaments and trompe-l’œil. After studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos, he collaborated with his father and completed his training in the studio of Francisco Domingo y Marqués.

From 1875, Benlliure sent his works to the Madrid Exhibition. At the Paris Salon, he presented genre paintings devoted to Spanish subjects as well as religious paintings. Having settled in Rome, he became a point of reference for the colony of Spanish artists. He later taught at the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome from 1903 to 1913. His institutional career also led him to hold a seat at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia, the Brera Academy in Milan and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.

Among the reported commissions is the portrait of Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy, commissioned by Amédée I, King of Spain. The list of his works cites Le mois de Marie à Valence and Saint François among the works held at the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. It also lists La vision du Colisée and Vision des martyrs à Rome in collections of the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia. A panel entitled Café de Tunez is described as signed, titled and countersigned on the reverse, and measures 34.5 × 53 cm. A canvas depicting a café scene in Tunis is recorded at the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung in Berlin in 1894, under number 100 and the title Maurisches Café in Tunis. After the early death of his son, Benlliure donated several of his son's works to the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia.

Works recorded at auction

Piguet

"Café de Tunez"

Oil on panel

Original catalogue wording

"Café de Tunez"
huile sur panneau

Catalogue period : 2021-11-24 — 2021-12-08

Published result : 17000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 5000–8000

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