Museo Carmen Thyssen

Born in Madrid in the middle of the century, Eduardo Flórez Ibáñez is recorded as winning the medal third-class awarded in 1871 by the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, but before that he served an apprenticeship at the Higher School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving and was a pupil of Carlos de Haes. Although the National Exhibition of 1873 was not of Fine Arts but of Development, it also featured examples of the liberal arts (fifth section, twenty-fourth group) among which Flórez (no. 14, from Madrid) showed “A watercolour” (no. 25), winning a copper medal. He continued to show his works at the National Exhibitions and up until the turn of the century he took part on a further six occasions submitting a total of more than thirteen works, practically all of them Asturian landscapes: two [nos. 91 and 92, Recuerdo de la Costa Cantábrica en Asturias (“Memory of the Cantabrian Coast in Asturias”) and Campiña del Monasterio de Piedra (“Countryside of the Monasterio de Piedra”)] in 1876; four [nos. 192 to 195, Playa de la Peñarronda en Asturias (“La Peñarronda Beach in Asturias”), Costa Cantábrica en Asturias (“Cantabrian Coast in Asturias”), Labradores de la costa de Asturias (“Labourers of the Coast of Asturias”) and Río Berbesa en Asturias (“River Berbesa in Asturias”)] in 1881; a further four [nos. 226 to 229, Arroyo de Portezuelo, inmediato a Luarca (“The Portezuelo Stream, next to Luarca”) Barrio del Cambaral en la ría de Luarca (“The Cambaral District on the Luarca Estuary”), Valle de Otur, junto a Luarca (“Valley of Otur, near Luarca”) and Playa (“Beach”)] in 1884; a watercolour [Palacio Real de Aranjuez desde la Isla (“Royal Palace of Aranjuez from the Island”)] in 1887; and another landscape [no. 288, Cercanías de las Caldas de Oviedo (“Environs of Las Caldas, Oviedo”)] in 1890. The catalogue of the 1890 National Exhibition furthermore refers to him as a native of Madrid and lists his address, as well an honorary mention he received at the Paris Exposition Universelle; the catalogue of the 1895 National Exhibition specifies that this was in 1889 and publishes his surname incorrectly as “Flores”, as well as listing the Asturian landscape he submitted that year, Vista de Covadonga (“View of Covadonga”, no. 317). It was the last work he showed at a National Exhibition.

Nevertheless, Flórez continued to exhibit his work in private societies, such as that of Watercolourists and the Circle of Fine Arts, and even with a gallery owner of the period, Hernández. The oil paintings and washes he showed are listed by Ossorio y Bernard: Playa de San Lorenzo de Tapia (“The Beach at San Lorenzo de Tapia”), Ría de Rivadeo, Marina (“Rivadeo Estuary. Seascape”), Un paisaje (“A Landscape”), Pablo y Virginia en la Moncloa (“Pablo and Virginia at the Moncloa”), Cabanela, Orillas del Sil (“Cabanela, Banks of the Sil”), Recuerdos del Cantábrico (“Memories of the Cantabrian Sea”), Astillero de la Lineira en bajamar (“La Lineira Shipyard at Low Tide”), La armonía (“Harmony”), Una huelga (“A Strike”), Dos pasajes del Quijote (“Two Passages from Don Quixote”), Mar gruesa (“Rough Sea”) and Una mañana (“One Morning”). He appears to have been above all a landscape artist and even a few later references – such as the catalogue of the 1946 exhibition of washes and watercolours – highlight his importance as a marine artist (probably because his only work shown there belonged to this genre), adding that he cultivated washes and watercolours equally. Without information about the effect of his oil paintings, we must consider him a diligent watercolour artist, particularly in the landscape genre.

Esteban Casado