JUAN BAUTISTA DE GUZMÃN ORANTE (Granada, 1850- Barcelona, 1898).
"In a Granada Courtyard", Granada, 1889.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, dated and located in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 61 x 98 cm.
In this occasion Juan Bautista de Guzmán offers us a scene contextualised in the interior of a Granada courtyard with sandy grounds and beautiful gardens. A young girl, dressed in a beautiful dress with ruffles and red polka dots, listens attentively to the words of a gallant musketeer. The work continues Juan Bautista de Guzmán's style of painting, which is part of Andalusian genre painting, frequently depicting popular scenes of bullfighters, peasants, taverns and courtyards in Granada. Costumbrista genre painting was a characteristic exponent of Andalusian folklore during the period of the rise of Romanticism and 19th-century Orientalism. Traditionally, Spanish painting and literature have been interested in popular customs and types. The arrival of Romanticism enlivened this trend, bringing to the Hispanic tradition the vision that foreigners had of our people, due to the snobbery of a Europeanising and liberal national bourgeoisie which, also due to foreign influence and under the Romantic fashion, turned its eyes to the people and monuments of the past. This, which was general throughout Spain, was particularly prevalent in Andalusia, as this land was the dream destination of foreigners, and where the influence of the vision they had of the Spaniards and their peculiar customs had to be felt most strongly.
Juan Bautista de Guzmán began his training at the School of Fine Arts in Granada and then went on to the San Fernando School in Madrid. A painter of popular Andalusian scenes, landscapes and orientalist themes, he held several exhibitions of his work and took part in artistic competitions and contests such as the Fine Arts Exhibitions in Granada in 1876 and Cadiz in 1879, winning prizes in both. He also took part in the National Exhibition in Madrid in 1881, presenting the genre-themed work "Confesión al aire libre" ("Confession in the Open Air"). His works also include the canvases entitled "El cepillo de las ánimas", "Interior de una taberna después de una corrida" ("Interior of a Tavern after a Bullfight") and "Una murga" ("A Murga"). A fervent admirer of Fortuny, Juan Bautista de Guzmán followed in the footsteps of the Catalan master and settled in Barcelona, where he died in 1898. He is currently represented in the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Art and Culture in Granada.