La Real Escuela de Platería "Martínez "de Madrid y su relación con la Escuela de Dibujo en Álava

Abstract

With this communication we intend to show the influence that the Martinez Silversmith School in Madrid had in the Basque Country, with the early introduction of Neo-classicism, through the Drawing Schools of the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País (Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country). The training of the three Basque pensioners sent by the Society to the Martinez School had a great repercussion in local silversmithery. The works preserved in Álava allow us to follow the evolution of the Martínez Silversmithery, from its foundation by silversmith Antonio Martínez. Martinez founded this school upon his return from Paris and London and after settling down near the Silversmith School in Madrid, including the different stages followed by the Real Fábrica de Platería (Royal Silversmithery Factory), after his death.