Maria is a young woman who was raised in Spain by her parents and was named after the famous painter and writer Domingo Luppi. Born indica (Cavalleria de Menorca) in the year 1776, Maria was actually only eleven when her parents first introduced her to the world of painting, as her father had instructed them to do so. She spent the next fourteen years travelling and living in various different parts of Spain, as her natural talent caught the attention of many different artists during this time. Her name simply means’Tall Maria’ in Spanish; the spelling of her name being supplied by her birth town’s civic records.
Maria married into a family of Spanish nobility, and the handsome Generalrador in the Royal Navy, although she always denied any claims of being his lover. As her career progressed, she travelled to the West Indies, where she established several paintings that showcased her talent, including one entitled The Queen of Spain (also attributed to Domingo Luppi), which was commissioned by the Queen in the 15th Century. Although the artist is not actually related to the king, it can be safely assumed that Maria was either deeply in love with him, or at least in admiration of the role he played in her artistic career. When her husband died in childbirth, Maria chose to continue travelling and painting in her own home country, where she produced some of her best works to this point. However, in 1794 her passport was stolen by a servant of the royal family, and she was forced to leave Spain, never to return to her beloved country.
Maria began a letter correspondence with Spain’s greatest painters, asking for pieces of advice and insight into her paintings, most of which gave her much encouragement. Spain’s answer to her letter was a collection of some of her most famous pieces, which she exhibited in the courts of Spain’s major cities. Maria was so impressed by their reaction that she decided to stay in Spain permanently, traveling to the various ports of call in order to further enhance her career, which led her to the position she holds today. She is survived by her son.