DIBUJOS DE JUAN CONCHILLOS FALCÓ (1641-1711). CATÁLOGO RAZONADO

Juan Conchillos Falcó (1641–1711) was one of the most prominent painters of the Valencian Baroque school. As he has not enjoyed widespread historiographical recognition, he is currently fairly unknown to the general public. One of the aims of this book – along with the study and cataloguing of his graphic production – is to highlight the important role he played in the process of breathing new life into the Valencian painting tradition in the late 1600s. This was made possible by a productive stay in Madrid, during which he frequented some of the academies established there and became acquainted with the works of the great painters of the court circle. According to his friend the painter and treatise writer Antonio Palomino (1655–1726), Conchillos returned to his hometown highly skilled in the art of painting and drawing.

When he opened his own painting academy in Valencia, he introduced the teaching methods he had learned at the court, encouraging the practice of drawing. His interest in this discipline can be seen today in the large number of surviving works on paper, many of them signed or dated, which makes him one of the most productive Baroque painters in this field in Spain. Although the book also addresses aspects of his biography and his painted output, it focuses chiefly on his work as a draughtsman, examining this practice in the context of the Valencian school of his time. This is a revised and updated catalogue raisonné comprising 95 works, which has weeded out misattributions and includes many hitherto unpublished drawings. They reveal the creativity and originality of an artist who excelled not only in his teaching but also in his skilful use of different techniques and the diversity of themes in his output.