The Morenos, art photographers

From 17 June to 22 November, the photography gallery at the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts Museum is hosting an exhibition comprising a selection of 12 works by photographers Mariano Moreno (Miraflores de la Sierra, 1865– Madrid, 1925) and Vicente Moreno (Madrid, 1894–1954), which form part of the Academy’s collection. In addition, bibliographic and newspaper material from the Pedro Melero / Marisa Llorente collection is on display.

Casa Moreno was founded by Mariano Moreno in 1893. It managed to build up a vast photographic archive, comprising more than sixty thousand negatives, which contained not only reproductions of works of art, but also hundreds of photographs of cities and an extraordinary array of portraits of artists and distinguished figures. 

The profession of photography came of age in the mid-19th century, when it found a wealthy clientèle eager to acquire photographs: the rising middle class. Over the years, the early daguerreotype gave way to what were known as imprimeries, whose work was crucial to the reproduction of images in large print runs.

Printing houses sprang up one after another in Europe and America. In Madrid, the pioneering work of Laurent et Cie was continued by the company founded by Mariano Moreno in the late 19th century. 

The Photo Library of the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage (IPCE) has granted the Academy the rights to the photographs on display in this exhibition and in the accompanying publication.