PARES | Spanish Archives

Identification

Type:

Person

Preferred form:

Iriarte, Tomás de (1750-1791)Other forms

Fechas de existencia:

Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España) 1750-09-18 - Madrid (España) 1791-09-17

History:

Spanish fable writer, poet, playwright, musician and translator.

Born in Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) in 1750, and was son of Bernardo de Iriarte and of Bárbara de las Nieves Ravelo; brother of Bernardo, Juan Tomás, Domingo and José.

He studied the Latin language under the teaching of his brother Fray Juan Tomás de Iriarte in La Orotava convent. In 1764 he moved to Madrid to study the classics with his uncle Juan de Iriarte (1792-1771), scholar of the Royal Library and translator of the State's Secretary, and member of the RAE and of the San Fernández's one. He also studied music with the Encarnación chapel's master, Antonio Rodríguez de Hita (1722-1787). Tomás learnt French and English, he started with Greek, perfected Latin and cultivated the music by playing the violin. With his uncle's death in 1771, Tomás succeeded him as translator of the State's Secretary, and in 1776 he got the archivist position in the War Supreme Court.

He became the most popular poet in the court, being his most famous work the published in 1782: Fábulas literarias . Fue protegido por el conde de Floridablanca. He had a long professional relationship with the countess-duchess of Benavente, Josefa Alonso Pimentel (1752-1834). He composed the famous poem La Música in 1779, that gained international fame, and that paid tribute to the composer Joseph Haydn in chant V.

He suffered from gout and at the end of his short life he spent long periods in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and took the opportunity to compose some of his works. Finally, he passed away in Madrid in 1791.