Luis Melendez 1716-80
He assisted his father, artist Francisco Melendez, until 1737, when he began studying with Lewis-Michel Vanloo, the court painter to Philip V of France. Although accepted (1745) into the Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Arts, he was expelled after his father denounced the academy in a dispute over a royal competition. After traveling throughout Italy, he returned to work for his father as an illustrator of choirbooks. Self-Portrait with a Drawing of a Male Nude mk52
1746
Oil on canvas
99x82cm
Louvre,Paris