José Balaca

Retrato de dama con su hijo , c.1860.

Dama con abanico, c. 1857.

José Balaca y Carrión (1800–1869) was a Spanish painter born in Cartagena.^[1] He was father of the painters Eduardo Balaca and Ricardo Balaca.

In 1828, he went to Madrid to attend the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. He later obtained royal patronage, for patriotic scenes from the First Carlist War. Following the overthrow of the Espartero regime, he went into exile and established himself in Lisbon as a portrait painter and producer of miniatures, receiving commissions from the royal court.

He travelled extensively, making lengthy stays in London and Paris, where he resided and worked for some time. Balaca finally returned to Spain and settled permanently in Madrid in 1852. He died there at the age of sixty-nine on November 19, 1869.

References

1. Catálogo de pinturas de la Real Academia de la Historia 2003 p267 Real Academia de la Historia (Spain), Herbert González Zymla, Leticia M. de Frutos Sastre - "Hijo del pintor José Balaca y Carrión (1810-1869) y hermano de Ricardo (1844- 1880). también pintor. se formó con su padre hasta ser admitido en la Escuela Especial de Pintura de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, ..."

• D. Foskett, A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, Vol I, London (1972)