Luis Egidio Melendez Self-Portrait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Luis Egidio Melendez Self-Portrait - Essay Example The essay "Luis Egidio Melendez Self-Portrait" explores Self-Portrait of Luis Egidio Melendez. Living approximately a century prior to Van Gogh, Luis Egidio Melendez struggled through his entire life working out brilliant uses of paint and technique to capture a vision that only he was able to see in his time. Although not insane like Van Gogh, Melendez was considered to have a difficult nature and this contributed to his professional struggles. Similar to Van Gogh, though, it was only after his death in abject poverty that his brilliance was finally recognized and honored. Today, the artist is considered one of the great masters of Spanish history, particularly in the area of still lifes. Although the difficulties of his life had a great role in dictating the subjects he painted, an examination of his Self-Portrait, painted in 1747, provides some illumination to his talents and abilities which distinguish him as a masterful painter. Melendez’ full name is Luis Egidio Melendez de Rivera Durazo y Santo Padre. He was born in Naples, Italy in 1716. His father, Francisco, had left his home of Oviedo, Spain to move to Madrid with his brother in order to study art but then moved on to Italy in 1699 in search of more new techniques. It was while Francisco was in Naples that he met and married Maria Josefa Durazo y Santo Padre Barrille and started a family. It wasn’t until 1717, when Luis was a year old, that the family returned to Madrid where Francisco developed his miniature painting skills further.