Manuel García y Rodríguez


Manuel García y Rodríguez was a Spanish costumbrista and landscape painter, who also painted Orientalist scenes.

Biography

At first, he studied music but ultimately dedicated himself to his love of painting. He received his earliest art education from José de la Vega Marrugal in Seville. Later, he attended the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, where he studied with, Manuel Ussel de Guimbarda and Emilio Sánchez Perrier.
Throughout his life, he participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where he was awarded medals in 1887, 1890 and 1895. He also participated in the Exposition Universelle (1889) and the World's Columbian Exposition. In 1899, he was named a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
In 1904, he visited Tangier and produced some paintings in Orientalist style. His works are in numerous museums and private collections. He was also a regular contributor of illustrations for the magazine Blanco y Negro.
He took much of his inspiration from the city of Seville and the Guadalquivir, including the Guadaira rivers and surrounding areas. He was closely associated with the Alcalá de Guadaira school of painting. In his final years, he focussed on the gardens, patios and parks of Seville, at which time he developed more of a modernist and impressionist aesthetic.

Work

García's work remains well known because many of his landscapes were reproduced as black and white illustrations, postcards and posters. Example of his work can be found in the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville. Many of his paintings are now in private collections, such as the Bellver Collection.
List of selected paintingsA Morning Stroll by the Canal, 1904Patio with Children, 1906Alcazar de Sevilla, 1911A River Landscape with Seville Beyond, 1912A Garden in Seville, 1913Seville Garden, 1914The Borders of Guadalquivir, 1917A Garden in Seville, 1919Collecion Bay, Madrid, 1921The Rose Garden, 1921 Seville Patio, 1925At the WellA Courtyard in SevilleEaster Procession in Mateos Gago Street, SevilleFeeding Poultry in a CourtyardThe Gardens of the Alcazar of SevilleMother and Daughter Sewing in a Patio Mujer con guitarra, Musician in an Andalusian Palace Inside Courtyard, Seville
  • ''Street scene in Granada''