Alfonso Pérez Sánchez

Alfonso Emilio Pérez Sánchez (16 June 1935 – 14 August 2010) was a Spanish art historian, specialising in Baroque art. From 1983 to 1991 he was director of the Prado Museum, a period during which he led the museum's modernisation as Spain moved to democracy. He had previously been a sub-director of the Prado from 1972 to 1981.

He was also a member of the Real Academia de la Historia, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

Life Education Born in Cartagena, he studied for his licentiate at the University of Valencia as well as studying the specialism of direction at the Escuela Oficial de Cine de Madrid with Basilio Martín Patino, Picazo, Manuel Summers and Gabriel Blanco. He died in Madrid after two years of illness.

Honours In 2003 he was awarded the 'Premio a la latinidad' by the Paris-based Latin Union for his contribution to the knowledge and study of the Latin culture common to both Europe and America. In 2007 Spain's Ministry of Culture awarded him the gold medal for Merit in the Fine Arts for his decisive contributions to the study of Baroque art and the Prado and the Focus-Abengoa Foundation published a book in tribute to him with a scholarly and historical profile and contributions from leading Spanish and international specialists in the period. In 2009 the Complutense University awarded him the medal of teaching merit.

He was also a member of the International Committee for Art History (CIHA), the editorial advisory board of the New York Master Drawings Association, a corresponding member of the Hispanic Society of America and of several Spanish academies. He also held many Spanish and foreign decorations such as Commander of the Order of the Polar Star (1983), Commander of the Order of Saint Olav (1984), an Honorary Knight Commander (Civil Division) of the Order of the British Empire (1989) and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (1991).

Works "Pintura italiana del Siglo XVII", catalogue of an exhibition marking the Prado's 150th anniversary, Madrid, 1970. "Disegni Spagnoli", Florence, Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, 1972. "Cararavaggio y el Naturalismo Español", Sevilla-Madrid, 1973. "La peinture espagnole du Siècle d 'Or. De Greco à Velázquez", París, Petit Palais, 1976 y Londres, Royal Academy, 1976. "D. Antonio de Pereda (1611-1678) y la pintura madrileña de su tiempo", Madrid, 1978. "El dibujo español de los siglos de Oro", Madrid, 1980. "El Toledo del Greco", Toledo, 1982. "Pintura española de Bodegones y floreros", Madrid, 1983-84. "Pintura napolitana de Caravaggio a Giordano", Madrid, 1985. "Carreño, Rizzi y Herrera y la pintura madrileña de su tiempo", Madrid, 1986. "Goya y el espíritu de la ilustración", Madrid-Boston-New York,1988-89. "Obras maestras de la Colección Masaveu", Madrid-Oviedo, 1989. "Velázquez", Madrid, 1990. "La Colección Cambó", Madrid, 1990. "Ribera 1591-1652", Nápoles y Madrid, 1992. "Madrid Pintado", Madrid, 1992. "Colección Pedro Masaveu. Cincuenta Obras", Oviedo, 1995. "Thomas Yepes", Bancaja, Valencia, 1995. "Tres Siglos de Dibujo Sevillano", Fundación Focus, Sevilla, 1995. "La Pintura italiana y española de los siglos xvi al xviii de la Catedral de Burgos", Burgos, 1996 (with Jesús Urrea). "Natures mortes y Flors del Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia", Alicante-Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia, 1996. "Pintura Española Recuperada por el Coleccionismo Privado", Fundación Focus-Real Academia de San Fernando, Sevilla-Madrid, 1996-97. "Juan de Arellano 1614-1676", Madrid, 1998. "El Greco conocido y redescubierto", Sevilla-Madrid-Oviedo, 1998. "Pintura española en Chile", Valencia, 1999. "El dibujo europeo en tiempo de Velázquez", Madrid, 1999. "Las lágrimas de San Pedro en la pintura española", Bilbao, 2000. "Pintura española en el Museo Nacional de San Carlos de México", Valencia, 2000. "Jerónimo Jacinto de Espinosa", Valencia-Roma, 2000. "Zurbarán. La obra final", Bilbao, 2000. "Luis Tristán, Fundación Toledo-BBVA, Madrid, 2001 (with Benito Navarrete). "Colección BBVA. Del gótico a la Ilustración, Madrid-Bilbao", 2001 (with Benito Navarrete). "El Greco Apostolados", La Coruña,Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, 2002. "Luca Giordano y España", Palacio Real, Madrid, 2002. "Tesoros del Museo Soumaya", Madrid-Bilbao, 2004 (with Benito Navarrete). "Luca Giordano. La imagen como ilusión", México, Museo Nacional de San Carlos, 2004. "Velázquez a Capodimonte", Nápoles, 2005. "De Herrera a Velázquez. El primer naturalismo en Sevilla", Sevilla-Bilbao, 2005-2006 (with Benito Navarrete). "Corrado Giaquinto y España", Palacio Real, Madrid, 2006. "Cuatro siglos de Pintura Europea en la Colección BBVA. Siglos xv al xviii", Museo Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Dic. 2006-marzo de 2007. "El Joven Murillo", Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao-Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, 2009-2010 (with Benito Navarrete) "Álbum Alcubierre. Dibujos. De la Sevilla ilustrada del conde del Águila a la colección Juan Abelló" (with Benito Navarrete) Galardonado por el Ministerio de Cultura con el segundo premio al mejor libro editado del 2009. "Pintura Barroca en España 1600-1750", sexta edición actualizada, 2010. "Pintura italiana del siglo xvii en España", 1965. "Catálogo de dibujos: Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando", Madrid, 1967. "Catálogo de dibujos españoles del Museo del Prado", 1973. "El Museo del Prado", 1974. "Pasado, presente y futuro del Museo del Prado", 1977. "Velázquez", Bolonia, 1980. "Historia del dibujo en España, de la Edad Media a Goya", 1986. "La nature morte espagnole du XVIIe siècle à Goya", (en francés), 1987. "Pintura barroca en España, 1600-1750", 1992. "De pintura y pintores", 1993. Ed. de Isidoro Bosarte, "Viaje artístico a varios pueblos de España... Tomo primero. Viaje a Segovia, Valladolid y Burgos" (1804) en Madrid, Turner, 1978.