Luis Paret y Alcázar was born in Madrid and studied at the newly formed Royal Academy of San Fernando. He received royal favour at an early age. In the early 1760s he was in Rome, sponsored by Don Luis de Borbón, brother of Charles III. In 1775, however, he was exiled from the court in Madrid after a suspected involvement in a scandal concerning his patron.
He subsequently lived in Puerto Rico and northern Spain for a time. In 1786 he returned to Madrid, where he became a respected member of the Academy.
Luis Paret
1746 - 1799
Paintings by Luis Paret
The small quayside of El Arenal is now in the centre of Bilbao, a city in the Basque region of northern Spain, but it was once used as a promenade and for unloading cargo from ships. The view is today dominated by buildings but Paret’s picturesque scene takes in the elegant walkway along the rive...