Ignacio Merino
Peruvian painter
title: "Ignacio Merino" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1817-births", "1876-deaths", "burials-at-père-lachaise-cemetery", "19th-century-deaths-from-tuberculosis", "people-from-piura", "history-painters", "peruvian-emigrants-to-france", "19th-century-peruvian-painters", "19th-century-peruvian-male-artists", "neoclassical-artists", "tuberculosis-deaths-in-france", "romantic-painters", "peruvian-male-painters"] description: "Peruvian painter" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Merino" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Peruvian painter ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Ignacio Merino (fotografía) (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Merino photographed c. 1860 |
| known_for | Founding the Peruvian school of art |
| style | History painting, costumbrista, academic art |
| :: |
| image = Ignacio Merino (fotografía) (cropped).jpg | caption = Merino photographed c. 1860 | known_for = Founding the Peruvian school of art | style = History painting, costumbrista, academic art
Ignacio Merino Muñoz (30 January 1817–17 March 1876) was a Peruvian painter notable for historical and costumbrista works, and considered the founder of the Peruvian school of painting. Beginning at age 6, he spent much of his life in Paris.
His artworks inspired French writer Jules Verne's 1852 short story "Martin Paz," which was set in Lima, Peru and begins with a summarization of Merino's life and art.
Biography
Early life in Peru
Ignacio Merino Muñoz was born on January 30, 1817, in Piura, Peru. His mother Doña Micaela María Muñoz, was from a wealthy aristocratic family in Trujillo, descending from maternal ancestry in both Spanish and Peruvian nobility. His father, Don José Clemente Merino, was a judge, district administrator and military commander. As a toddler on the beach, Merino would draw the contour outline of sailing ships in the sand, exhibiting skill in observational drawing. By the age of four, he was creating fine art on paper and seemed absorbed in its process, which impressed his mother; she expressed hope that Merino would be the first Peruvian fine artist.
First trip to Paris
Circa 1827, shortly after reaching 6 years of age, his parents allowed Merino to travel to Paris for an arts education, though they chose not to accompany him. There, Merino attended high school, earned his bachelor's degree in law, and pursued his art career. In Paris, Merino studied under French painters Raymond Monvoisin and Paul Delaroche, who inspired his interest in history painting. As a result of Delaroche's influence, Merino focused on themes from European history, whereas his Peruvian-themed paintings were generally in the costumbrista category.
Educating in Peru
In 1838, Merino returned to Peru at 20 years of age, also having studied in Italy and Spain. Upon his return, he established a school of lithography and a school of drawing and paint. He became Assistant Director, then Director of the "Academy of Drawing and Painting," founded by José Fernando de Abascal, where he taught or otherwise influenced the careers of other prominent painters, such as Luis Montero Cáceres, and Francisco Laso.
During the 1840s, he created a series of portraits devoted to Peruvian saints, including Rose of Lima and Martín de Porres.
| image1 = Retrato de ignacio merino arte peru.jpg | footer = Two portraits of Merino, both made by Peruvian artists c. 1854; left by Luis Montero Cáceres, right by Francisco Laso | image2 = Retrato de Ignacio Merino (Laso).jpg | width1 = 153 | width2 = 150
Return to Paris
In 1850, he had an opportunity to study with Eugène Delacroix, and returned to Paris. He would remain there for the rest of his life. It is said that an exhibition of his costumbrista paintings served as the inspiration for Martin Paz, an adventure story by Jules Verne, which was set in Lima. Upon returning to Paris, he produced 92 wood engravings for a luxury 1854 edition of 1797 satire Lima por dentro y fuera, collaborating with Parisian printer A. Mézin and draftsman A. Jourdain. Many of these engravings, including landscapes, portraits, and popular scenes, served as studies for later canvases of costumbrista themes.
It was there he created his best-known painting, Colón ante los doctores en Salamanca, which was purchased by the government of President José Balta after winning a third-place medal at the "Exposition des Beaux-Arts". He was also inspired by European literature and created works based on the writings of Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott and Miguel de Cervantes.
Death and legacy
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Ignacio_Merino.jpg" caption="The magazine this comes from (The Illustrated Peru) only existed 1887-1892.}} engraving of Merino by [[Evaristo San Cristóval"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Père-Lachaise_-Division_53-_Merino_02.jpg" caption="Grave of Merino, 2014 in [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]]"] ::
Merino died of tuberculosis in 1876, and he was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Having never married and without an heir, he ceded his estate and artworks to the Municipality of Lima.
This included 33 paintings which, in 1925, were the first acquisitions of the newly founded , which continues to operate as of 2023.
Gallery
File:El ingreso del presidente Luis José de Orbegoso a Lima.jpg|The Entry of President Luis José de Orbegoso to Lima, ca. 1842 File:Frutera (Merino).jpg|Frutera, 1850 File:La Jarana - Ignacio Merino s. XIX.jpg|La Jarana (lit. The Revelry), c. 1857 File:Ignacio Merino - Reading Don Quixote - Google Art Project.jpg|Reading Don Quixote, 1861 File:Cristóbal Colón ante los sabios en Salamanca.jpg|Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca, 1863 File:Merino-Old man.jpg|Portrait of an Old Man, unknown date File:Merino-Italian courtship.jpg|Italian Courtship, unknown date File:Pizarro tomando posesión del Pacífico en nombre de los reyes de España.jpg|Pizarro Taking Possession of the Pacific in the Name of the Kings of Spain, c. 1850 File:Escena americana 01.jpg|American Scene (Scenes from the Life of Andalusia), c. 1854 File:Retrato de Francisco Masías.jpg|Portrait of Francisco Masías, 1855 File:Merino-Giving alms.png|Woman Giving Alms, unknown date File:Cristóbal Colón y su hijo son hospedados en el convento de la Rábida.jpg|Christopher Columbus and His Son Lodged in the Convent of La Rábida, 1855 File:Turk-Merino.jpg|The Turk, unknown date File:La apertura del testamento.jpg|The Opening of the Will, 1864 File:Los frailes atravesando un vado.jpg|The Friars Crossing a Ford, c. 1865 File:Aparición del ángel a la familia de Tobías.jpg|Appearance of the Angel to the Family of Tobias, c. 1867 File:El aficionado.jpg|alt=|The Aficionado, 1868 File:La venganza del señor Cornaro.jpg|The Revenge of Mr. Cornaro, 1869 File:La cocotte.jpg|The Woman Who Laughs (The Crazy), c. 1870 File:Un bufón.jpg|A Jester (Mephistopheles), 1870 File:Hamlet (Ignacio Merino).jpg|Hamlet, 1872 File:La barca.jpg|On the Boat, c. 1874
References
References
- cultural, Hermeneuta Revista. (2022-03-17). "Ignacio Merino, el pintor peruano que inspiró a Julio Verne en sus inicios como novelista".
- "Ignacio Merino. Fundador de la escuela peruana".
- Verne, Jules. (1876). "Martín Paz: los primeros navíos mejicanos". Creative Media Partners, LLC.
- [http://www.mali.pe/modulo/upload/1303919512MALI_IgnacioMerino_ficha.pdf Museo de Arte de Lima] Ignacio Merino: La Historia Imaginada
- [http://peru21.pe/noticia/750478/historia-imaginada-ignacio-merino "Ignacio Merino: La Historia Imaginada] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-05 @ Peru 21.)
- Zavalza Hough-Snee, Dexter. (2015). "Estudios de sátira hispanoamericana". Iberoamericana/Vervuert.
- [http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/m/merino_ignacio.htm Brief biography] @ Biografías y Vidas
- Summer, Eva. (2021-03-01). "Municipal Art Gallery Ignacio Merino".
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