SHARING HER FATHER'S PASSION FOR PAINTING INES SALINAS

SHOWS OFF ANOTHER MASTERPIECE: THEIR 16TH-CENTURY HOME IN SEVILLE

- CRISTINA OLIVAR

Artist Inés Salinas has never had to look far for inspiration. Her father Manuel Salinas, one of Spain’s foremost abstract painters, was rarely without a brush in his hand as little Inés was growing up, and the family home is itself a work of art – a masterpiece of Renaissance style with roots in Andalusia’s Islamic past and glimpses of the glory of ancient Rome.

Here, in the centre of the city of Seville, in the district of Santa Cruz, Inés celebrated many of her life’s milestones surrounded by family, friends and art. In December 2018 the sprawling house, with its exquisite tiled walls, Moorish fountain and many stained-glass windows, made the picture-perfect venue for her wedding to Fernando Yñiguez.

The house was originally built in 1565 by Baltasar Jaén, a rich merchant who profited from Seville being the first port of call for ships laden with gold and silver from the Americas, entering Spain via the Guadalquivir river. Since then the house has served as a theatre, school, Masonic lodge – there are rumours of buried treasure – and a billet for Napoleon’s invading troops. It has seen many changes over the centuries, and after the Salinas family acquired it in 1930, it underwent a comprehensive restoration.

“It was bought by Manuel Salinas Malagamba and he began to bring it back to its former splendour by restoring features that had been lost over the years,” says Inés who, before becoming a full-time painter, studied nutrition and nursing with a view to following her mother into medicine.

Known for her colourful, joyful abstract paintings, she says her work “must speak for itself ”. And it’s been speaking rather a lot lately, beguiling art lovers at a recent exhibition in Seville, with more shows planned in Madrid, Barcelona and Portugal.