JOSÉ GALLEGOS Y ARNOSA (Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, 1857 - Anzio, Italy, 1917)."Procession in Venice in front of the Basilica of San Marco.Oil on panel.Signed and located (Venice) in the lower left corner.Size: 19 x 9.5 cm; 26 x 20 cm (frame).Painter and sculptor, José Gallegos felt attraction for painting since he was a child, standing out together with Salvador Sánchez Barbudo, of the same age, in the pictorial arts. Together they frequently visited the studio of Luís Sevíl, a Romantic painter of the first generation of Jerez painters, and attended the artistic and literary gatherings organised by the Ysasi sisters. The painter began his training in classes at the Casino de Artesanos de Jerez, where he received advice from Guillermo Cook, who would later be director of the Jerez Academy of Fine Arts. Cook advised José Gallegos's parents to find the means for their son to study fine arts, and finally the young man went to Madrid in 1873, at the age of sixteen. There he studied at the San Fernando School in Madrid, where his main teachers were the Madrazo family. After the successes he achieved in several exhibitions, reflected by the art critics of the time, José Gallegos went to Tunisia and Morocco, attracted by the light and the suggestive atmosphere of these exotic lands. In 1878 he travelled to Rome to further his training, and two years later he decided to settle permanently in the Italian capital, where he became a member of the Spanish School. From Rome he travelled to Madrid, Seville, Jerez, Munich, London, Paris and Berlin, holding individual exhibitions and taking part in group exhibitions. In 1891 he was awarded the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Fine Arts in Berlin. The works of José Gallegos can be found in leading art galleries, private collections and art galleries all over the world, including the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, the Mathaf Gallery in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Cadiz.Dimensions: 19 x 9.5 cm; 26 x 20 cm (frame).