Leaving Church

Germán Álvarez Algeciras trained in Madrid then obtained an official grant to further his studies in Rome. He specialised in picturesque genre scenes executed with an extremely virtuoso technique. During his time in Rome between 1871 and 1876 he became close friends with José Jiménez Aranda who introduced him to Fortuny’s style. Álvarez Algeciras focused on paintings of minor subjects using Fortuny’s preciosista manner, producing complex compositions filled with pleasing details that conformed to the bourgeois taste of the day. This success, however, was not reflected in his participation in the National Fine Arts Exhibitions in Spain and he only presented his work on two occasions, in 1874 and 1877. Álvarez Algeciras was director of the Royal Santo Domingo Academy of Fine Arts in Jerez, which flourished under his leadership. The present canvas dates from his mature period and depicts an inconsequential episode of a lady and gentleman exchanging glances as they leave church, painted with the attention to detail and vivacity typical of this artist’s approach. The marked interest in small detail that characterises Álvarez Algeciras’s work ultimately gives his paintings a slightly artificial air.