Andr?s Gin?s de Aguirre

(b Yecla, Murcia, 1727; d Mexico City, 1800). Spanish painter and teacher. He entered the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de S Fernando in Madrid in 1745 and applied unsuccessfully for a scholarship to go to Rome. He was awarded an allowance by Ferdinand VI, however, which enabled him to continue his studies and to make copies of paintings in the royal collections, including works by Guido Reni and Diego Vel?zquez. In 1760 he painted a portrait of the new king, Charles III (untraced). In 1764 he was made a supernumerary academician and became an Acad?mico de M?rito in 1770, later joining the group of painters working for the Real F?brica de Tapices de S B?rbara. In 1785 he was appointed assistant to Mariano Salvador Maella, with whom he collaborated in the restoration of the royal portraits, and the following year he was promoted to Director of Painting in the Academia de S Carlos in Mexico City. Disagreements with the director general, conflict with the viceroy and his dislike of the climate all made life in Mexico difficult for Gin?s de Aguirre, but he made a great success of his work as a teacher and trained many young painters who worked with him until his death.

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