[en] This dissertation aims to comprehensively examine the painter Rafael Ximeno y Planes (Valencia, c.1759 ? Mexico, 1825) and value his artistic dimension as well as his relevance in the context of the New Spain academicism from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The connection of Rafael Ximeno y Planes to the academic sphere was a constant in his life and it was the component that governed the development of his professional career. We analyze the way in which the various Fine Arts teaching institutions where he was a disciple, grantee, teacher or director, determined the configuration of his artistic personality. This project also explores the ways in which Ximeno himself tried to transmit the values and precepts of academicism through his artistic works and through his efforts as the head of the first Academy of Fine Arts founded in the Americas. The work is structured in seven chapters connected by the thread of Ximeno?s life and his artistic production. It begins with the study of his formative stage and the training works he carried out in the Academies of Valencia, Madrid and Rome. The next chapter is devoted to the compilation and analysis of all his production as a draftsman for engravings of the most important printing presses in Madrid and Valencia. We continue with his arrival in New Spain (year?) and his role in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos. This chapter focuses on the genesis and early years of the institution to understand the context in which Ximeno arrived in Mexico to occupy the position of Second Director of Painting. Four years later, he would be appointed General Director of the Academy. In the subsequent chapters, Ximeno?s work from his New Spain period is analyzed and described in the following order: portraiture, religious mural and easel painting, drawings for engraving and his sketchbook. In reviewing the work of Rafael Ximeno, we can observe the practical application of the ideas of enlightened academicism and also his ability to assimilate and adapt to the artistic field of New Spain. Rafael Ximeno developed artistic ventures of great scope and originality that contributed to the configuration of a new national sensibility in New Spain. He witnessed all the transformations that Mexico experienced from the beginning of the National Independence movement in 1810 until the proclamation of the United Mexican States in 1824. The passing of years and different studies of his work have contributed to increased recognition of Ximeno?s legacy in developing the aesthetic taste and the formation, under academic canons and precepts, of Mexican artists in the 19th century.

[es] La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo el estudio de la figura del pintor Rafael Ximeno y Planes (Valencia, c.1759- México, 1825) para entender y valorar de manera integral su dimensión artística y relevancia en el contexto del academicismo novohispano de finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX. La vinculación de Rafael Ximeno y Planes al mundo académico fue una constante en su vida y el componente que rigió el desarrollo de su carrera profesional. Analizamos la forma en la que su presencia en las diferentes instituciones de enseñanza de las Bellas Artes de las que formó parte tanto como discípulo, pensionado, profesor o director, determinaron la configuración de su personalidad artística así como la manera en la que él mismo intentó transmitir los valores y preceptos del academicismo, a través de sus obras y de su labor al frente de la primera Academia de Bellas Artes fundada en América.