Quintana Olleros
Blas Olleros y Quintana was a Spanish figure painter and landscape painter who worked primarily in Italy as a watercolorist. He is best known for his Neapolitan scenes and Orientalist works.
Life and career
Blas Olleros was born in Piedrahita, in the Province of Ávila in central-Western Spain, in 1851. In 1874, the Avila City Council awarded a grant to Olleros enabling him to further his art education in Rome. In his first year in Rome, he completed the work, Nerón En un Jardin Recitando Rodeado de su Corte . After completing his studies, he relocated to Paris for three years. During this period, he became acquainted with the Spanish portrait and genre painter, Palmaroli who influenced Olleros’ work.In 1881, he returned to Rome where he met the Spanish painter, Agustin Salinas and the pair became great friends. For much of the 1880s, Olleros resided in Naples, where he was known as “Il Improvvisatore” . He adopted Italy as his new homeland, remaining there for most of his adult life.
In 1883, he sold two works, Una Pompeyana and Una Marina, through Hernández in Madrid, a commercial gallery that specialised in the sale of watercolours. After that his work was sold primarily through Hernández, although some works were also sold through foreign dealers notably German and French agents.
In his later years, he resided in Florence and died there in 1919.