López y Portaña, Vicente (1772-1850)

Spanish painter. He painted mostly portraits and was influenced by the Neo-Classicist Mengs. He enjoyed a high reputation, and in 1815 was preferred to Goya as court painter to Ferdinand VII.

He was born in Valencia and studied there and in Madrid. Working in a baroque style tempered by Neo-Classicism, he painted allegorical and mythological works as well as portraits. He became director of the Academy of San Fernando 1817 and of the Prado 1823.