José Benlliure y Gil was a prominent Spanish painter who was born on October 1, 1855, in the Cañamelar-Cañamelar district of Valencia in Spain, and who died on April 5, 1937, in the same region according to some biographies and in Rome according to others. He was known for his Costumbrista themes, portraits, and large historical paintings. He also served as a professor at the Academy of Rome.
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His parents were Juan Antonio Benlliure and Ángela Gil. Juan was a decorative painter specializing in ornamental painting with floral motifs and trompe-l’œil effects. José also had two brothers who were artists: Jhan Antonia and Mariano.
José stidied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia and later worked with the artist Francisco Domingo y Marqués.
He exhibited at the Madrid Exhibition and at the Paris Salon. He was drawn over time to teh Symbolis movement, and, moving to Italy, became a central figure for the Spanish community in Rome, where he was Professor od the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts. He received a Royal commission from King Amadeo I of Spain, and was acknowledged by prestigious institutions in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
José and his wife Maria Ortiz had a son, Josep Benlliure i Ortiz, who was also an artist but who died in his twenties, and a daughter, Maria Benlliure Ortiz.and
The house in Valencia where the family lived is today open to the public as the House Museum Benlliure.
