ANTONIO REYNA (Coín, Málaga, 1859 - Rome, 1937)."Greek girl with zither".Oil on panel.It has a

ANTONIO REYNA (Coín, Málaga, 1859 - Rome, 1937).
"Greek girl with zither".
Oil on panel.
It has a period frame.
Signed and located in Rome in the lower right corner.
Size: 46 x 22 cm; 70 x 45 cm (frame).
Through a fast and material stroke, the artist presents a child's portrait. With a completely modern technique, the author transports the viewer to classical antiquity, not only by the use of a symmetrical and clear composition, but also by the presence of elements related to classical culture. An example of this is the place where she is seated, on which an inscription in Greek can be seen. In addition, on the lower right-hand side there is a raven and a large amphora, elements linked to divination rites and to the god Apollo.
Now considered one of the most important Andalusian landscape painters of the 19th century, Antonio Reyna began his training at the Malaga School of Fine Arts, where his teachers were Joaquín Martínez de la Vega and Bernardo Ferrándiz. From a very early age he exhibited his works regularly, standing out in the local art scene for his colourful, attractive compositions and the ease of his brushstrokes. His progress was spectacular, and in 1882 he obtained a grant from the Malaga Provincial Council to further his studies in Italy. Reyna had fallen in love with Rome, and he would stay there to live forever. In Rome he frequented Villegas, like so many other Spaniards, and in his orbit he worked on oriental and "casacón" themes, the latter of exquisite execution and refined chromatic variety. At the same time, as a member of the Spanish colony, he took part in the gatherings at the Café Greco. Although his habitual residence seems to have always been in the Eternal City, he soon travelled to Venice, from where he sent a view of the Grand Canal as early as 1885, and in 1887 he painted many "vedute" pictures of the city. In fact, won over by their beauty and picturesqueness, he devoted himself to painting such urban landscapes in small formats, repeating them on many occasions with minor variations. Venice was at that time a pole of attraction for Spaniards thanks to Fortuny's widow and the weight of Villegas's Venetian production, as well as the effect of the summer stays (and later continued residence) of Martín Rico, whose precious landscapes were passed on to Reyna. In 1887, a large canvas entitled Floralia won him a third-class medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts and was considered at the time to be the painter's best painting. In 1910, on the occasion of his mother's death, Reyna spent some time in his native city. There he was inspired to produce another of his most celebrated successes, the canvas "Rancho andaluz", which he showed at the International Exhibition of Fine Arts in Rome the following year. Some years earlier, in 1895, the queen regent Maria Cristina had awarded him the knight's cross of the order of Charles III, which was associated with the production of some overdoors that later passed to the Madrid Athenaeum, although it would appear that they are no longer to be found there. Reyna also exported his work to London, particularly his Venetian views. He also held regular exhibitions in Rome, showing among other works two portraits of Pope Benedict XV, which attest to his expertise in this genre. In his painting, which was certainly a novelty for the time, the artist displayed his skill at drawing and an innate ability for composition, marked by the boldness of his brushstrokes and a wealth of colour. On 5 December 2009, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Antonio Reyna's birth, an extensive anthological exhibition of his work was inaugurated at the García Agüera Foundation in Malaga. Antonio Reyna currently has a museum named after him in Coín.