Domingo Álvarez Enciso

Don Domingo Álvarez Enciso (1737 – 23 October 1800), also called Domingo Alvarez and Domingo Alvarezenciso, was a Spanish painter and copyist, active in Madrid and Rome in the second half of the 18th century.

Life
The origins of Domingo Álvarez Enciso are unclear. He was apparently born in 1737 in the town of Mansilla, Burgos, or in Mansilla de la Sierra. However, records related to his stay in Rome in 1758 reveal that he considered himself a native of the Riojan town of Ventosa.

From 1752 he studied painting at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, and in 1758 he won a scholarship competition that allowed him to visit Rome, with the support of Preciado de la Vega. He sent back to Madrid copies of the Rape of the Sabine Women, by Pietro da Cortona (formerly attributed to Guido Reni) and a Tarquinio y Lucrecia ('Tarquinius and Lucretia').

In 1766 he was made a supernumerary member of the Academia de San Fernando in recognition of the picture Diana y Endimion ('Diana and Endymion').

After a short stay in Madrid, he travelled again to Rome. Commissioned by Charles III, he painted copies of works by Raphael and others from the Vatican collections.

In 1788 he was appointed director of painting at the Escuela de Nobles Artes in Cádiz. In 1795 he was made an honorary member the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. He died in Jérez de la Frontera on 23 October 1800.