19th – 20th Century Spanish

José Gallegos entered the art scene of his hometown, Jerez de la Frontera, where he frequented the studio of the romantic painter Luis Sevil (1817-1893) and took part in artistic and literary gatherings, becoming acquainted with artists like Adolfo del Águila (1830-1895).

In 1873 he enrolled at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid where he studied under Federico de Madrazo (1815-1894). In 1878, with a view to furthering his education, he travelled to Rome where he settled for some time, though this did not prevent him from visiting other European cities like Munich, London, Paris, or Berlin.

In 1891 he obtained the Gold Medal at the Berlin International Fine Arts Exposition, as well as an Honorary Mention from its international jury.

In 1900 he returned to Jerez de la Frontera, where he remained until 1906 creating the baldachin at the Santiago church, commissioned by his former patron Guillermo Garvey.

He then returned to Italy, where he developed most of his career as a painter of genre scenes and of the diminutive format of

 tableautin 

(small tableau) were miniature works depicting genre, romantic or military scenes in the taste of the 18^th century. Generally highly refined and detailed, these works were highly popular throughout the 19^th century. Introduced from France, Mariano Fortuny was the greatest exponent of this subgenre in Spain.

, or small tableau. Together with artists like Salvador Sánchez Barbudo (1857-1917), José Villegas (1844-1921), Mariano Barbasán (1864-1924), Juan Pablo Salinas (1871-1946) and Mariano Benlliure (1862-1947), Gallegos y Arnosa was a member of the elite of Spanish painting in Rome at the time.