Alberto Valenzuela Llanos

Place: San Fernando

Born: 1869

Death: 1925

Biography:

Alberto Valenzuela Llanos street in Providencia), the mountains of the Cajón del Maipo to the south of Santiago, and the coast of Algarrobo.
The personality of Valenzuela Llanos was calm and serene and his main hobby was painting with oils. He never felt influenced by the bohemian atmosphere of the time, keeping his distance from political conflicts, and was always concerned about the welfare of his parents, siblings and friends in his hometown, taking the train to Colchagua whenever he had the chance to visit his relatives.
His painting evolved quickly thanks to the direction of Mochi and he began specialising in oil painting and using more and more sketches, drawing designs before starting on the painting itself. Most importantly, he was able to develop a personal style, the product of need and of effort. This earned him early recognition, and in 1889 he gained a place in the “Salon official de Santiago” (the official Santiago salon or exhibition hall). The following year he won a bronze medal at the annual salon contest, with more awards and recognition following quickly afterwards: in 1890, one of his paintings was featured in the Salon de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, something that few Latin American artists had achieved. Then, in 1891, he won an award at an exhibition in the United States and the Chilean government gave him a scholarship to study in Paris in exchange for some years of teaching .
With no hesitation, Valenzuela Llanos accepted the scholarship and went to France to study with Jean-Paul Laurens, who had taught other Chilean painters such as Alberto Orrego Luco and Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma, in the Académie Julian. There, he learned about impressionism and expressionism and had an extremely productive period, producing many paintings of Paris at dawn. In 1913, his efforts would win him an award at the Salon de peinture et de sculpture in 1913.

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