Among his most engravings are illustrations for the first sextodecimo edition of Don Quixote, prepared and edited at the Royal Printers from 1797 to 1798; the "Vista of the Teatro Seguntino, Taken from the Stands", after a drawing by Manuel Camaron i Melià [ca], for Architectural and Antiquarian Travels in Spain (1807); and the portraits of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII and their respective spouses, José de Palafox with his officers, and posthumous depictions of Francisco Pizarro, Francisco Sánchez de las Brozas and Jerónimo Gracián, which he created for Portraits of Illustrious Spaniards.
In 1839, he received the greatest honor of his career in the form of a gold medal at the Exposition des produits de l'industrie française, for his burin etching of Moses Striking Water from a Rock; after a painting by Bartolomé Murillo, the execution of which involved living in Seville for a time.
He was also awarded a cross in the Order of Charles III and named Honorary Director of the Academia de San Carlos. He was also an "Academic of Merit" at the Academia de San Fernando and a corresponding member of the Paris Academy.
Friendship With Francisco de Goya
In 1799, he was named the Court Engraver and executed portraits of the Royal Family, based on drawings made by his uncle, Agustín, after paintings by Francisco de Goya; for the Guía de Forasteros (a type of almanac). This enabled him to begin a friendship with Goya, who painted his portrait in 1815. Though not one of Goya's best-known works, it has considerable value. A replica of the work was the most expensive thing sold on the online retailer, Amazon, in 2022. It was valued at about $4 million.[1]
Esteve Vilella and Goya's friendship lasted despite the latter's exile from Spain (1824-1828) in his last years. In a letter to his son dated January 17, 1828, Goya signs with the postscript "«To Don Rafael Esteve a thousand thing, that I often remember."[2]
Gallego Gallego, Antonio (1968). Historia del grabado en España. Madrid: Cátedra. ISBN978-84-376-0209-7
Zabala, Fernanda (2003). 125 valencianos en la Historia. Valencia (España): Carena Editors. ISBN84-87398-64-2
Catalá Gorgues, Miguel Ángel et al. (1986) El grabador Rafael Esteve. 1772-1847, exhibition catalog, Valencia, Publicaciones de la Fundación Caja de Pensiones ISBN978-84-7664-049-4
External links
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