Lady with a Basket of Fruit, Rafael Latorre Viedma (Granada 1872-1970), Granada school of the 19th - 20th centuries

Lady with a Basket of Fruit, Rafael Latorre Viedma (Granada 1872-1970), Granada school of the 19th - 20th centuries
Oil on canvas, canvas measurements: 89 x 59, framed measurements: 104 x 75 cm. Rafael Latorre Viedma was born in Granada in 1872 and trained as a painter in García Guerra's workshop, at the Granada School of Fine Arts and at the Granada Artistic Centre. He completed his training in Paris and Rome, although he decided to return to his hometown to develop his artistic career there. I prefer to sacrifice success to lose the peace and quiet of my house in Albaicin, he would say in his correspondence to the art critic Bernardino de Pantorba. He actively participated in the artistic and cultural life of his time. He was a member of the Avellano Brotherhood and a collaborator of Ángel Ganivet, and attended the gatherings of Carmen de los Cipreses and Huerto de las Tres Estrellas, meeting other painters from Granada, such as Isidoro Marín, but also writers, musicians and poets of intellectual and artistic Granada. His pictorial style places him in Realism, abounding in his works of costumbrista scenes and Granada landscapes. He painted above all his neighborhood, the Albaicín, but also other typical spaces of Granada such as the Sacromonte caves. In his oil paintings, he reflects characters of the time in domestic scenes, such as embroidering or washing clothes, or everyday life in the city. He also painted still lifes and portraits. He presented many of these works at different exhibitions, both those of Fine Arts in Granada and others outside the city, obtaining medals and recognitions. A multifaceted artist, he also devoted himself to illustration and made hand programs and posters for the Corpus Christi festivities; He also made drawings for publications and magazines, such as Blanco y Negro, La Alhambra or Gran Vía. He combined his artistic career with teaching, teaching drawing and painting classes, and with his work as an antiquarian. In 1931 he began to work in the Alhambra as a restorer and painter, together with the architect-conservator Leopoldo Torres Balbás. Among his tasks were those of reproducing in watercolor decorative motifs of the Nasrid palaces in different materials. Plasterwork, wood, tiled baseboards, etc., from spaces as significant as the Mexuar, the Sala de los Reyes or the Mirador de Lindaraja, were reflected in his watercolors. Among his tasks were those of reproducing in watercolor decorative motifs of the Nasrid palaces in different materials. Plasterwork, wood, tiled baseboards, etc., from spaces as significant as the Mexuar, the Sala de los Reyes or the Mirador de Lindaraja, were reflected in his watercolors. Among his tasks were those of reproducing in watercolor decorative motifs of the Nasrid palaces in different materials. Plasterwork, wood, tiled baseboards, etc., from spaces as significant as the Mexuar, the Sala de los Reyes or the Mirador de Lindaraja, were reflected in his watercolors.