Pascual Ortega Portales

Pascual Ortega Portales (December 5, 1839 – December 22, 1899) was a notable Chilean painter. His art fits into the categories of romanticism and realism.

Biography
Ortega Portales was born in a wealthy family. At 14 years old he was sent to Europe to study art. Studied there from 1854 to 1864 at the Academy of Painting (Santiago, Chile) with Alejandro Ciccarelli. In 1868 he received a scholarship from the Chilean government for a stay in Europe and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris with Alexandre Cabanel and Hippolyte Taine. During this time Ortega Portales also visited Italy, Spain, Belgium and Germany. After a ten-years sojourn in Europe he settled in Santiago of Chile, where he painted portraits and Italian scene from memory. Intessive training permitted him resolve any genre with Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier in perspective allowed him to experiment in monumental compositions. His solid academic training of painting, but he was unfamiliar with the refinement of the European masters who were the model of reference for figurative painting. The rigidity of his characters and strident colors were criticized by his contemporaries and prevented him from joining the faculty al the School of Fine Arts. His paintings have been exhibited in Chile, Argentina and France, among others.

In the 1882 South American Continental Exhibition in Buenos Aires, he received the second prize. Several of his works are in the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Works in the National Museum of Fine Art Collection

 * Neapolitan, oil on canvas, 36 x 27 cm.
 * La Alsaciana, 1874, oil on canvas, 55 x 39 cm.
 * Child portrait, oil on canvas, 47 x 33 cm.

Works in other public collections

 * Berlin Museum, Berlin, Germany
 * Santiago Cathedral, Santiago, Chile
 * Church of San Isidro, Santiago of Chile
 * School Concepción workshop, Concepción, Chile
 * Craftsman society, La Unión, Santiago, Chile

Collective exhibitions

 * 1869 Salon of Paris, France.
 * 1877 Official Hall, Santiago.
 * 1882 South American Continental Exhibition, Buenos Aires.
 * 1884 Official Hall, Santiago.
 * 1896 Official Hall, Santiago. He also participated in 1925.
 * 1889 Beaux Arts au Chili, Exposition Universelle de Paris, Paris.
 * 1910 International Exhibition of Fine Arts, National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago.
 * 1930. Exhibition of the 50th anniversary of its Foundation, 1880 - 1930, Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago.
 * 1940 Chilean Art Exhibition, Buenos Aires.
 * 1949 Exhibition of the Portrait in Chilean Plastic, National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago.
 * 1972 Some Forgotten Painters, Cultural Institute of Las Condes, Santiago.
 * 1981 Rescue of Chilean Painting, National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago.
 * 1986 Chilean Plastic, Collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Valdivia.
 * 1987 Panorama of Chilean Painting, Cultural Institute of Las Condes, Santiago.
 * 2000 Chile 100 Years - First Period 1900 - 1950, National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago.

Awards and distinctions

 * 1864 Pensioned by the Government of Chile to study painting in France.
 * 1877 Second Medal, Official Salon, Santiago.
 * 1882 Second Medal, South American Continental Exhibition, Buenos Aires.
 * 1884 Third Medal, Official Salon, Santiago.