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Lot description
JOSEP CUSACHS (Montpellier, France, 1851 - Barcelona, 1908). "Soldier". Mixed media on paper. Signed. Measurements: 27 x 15 cm; 40 x 26 cm (frame). José Cusachs was born accidentally in France, since his parents were there on a trip, but his art and his life were always linked to two localities: Barcelona and Mataró. In 1865, after passing a competitive examination, he entered the Artillery Academy to pursue a military career. However, in 1882, after a brilliant career that led him to be Captain of the Army for war merits, he asked for retirement to devote himself to painting. Trained in Barcelona under the direction of Simón Gómez, he completed his artistic studies with a stay in Paris, in the studio of Édouard Détaille, one of the greatest experts in military themes, a genre that would become Cusachs' favorite. During these years he would make his work known through individual exhibitions, such as the ones he held regularly from 1884 at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, always obtaining great success in sales and critics. In 1890 he was already a regular exhibitor at the gallery, where he showed new works every week. The bond between Cusachs and the Sala Parés was so deep, in fact, that after the painter's death the gallery fell into a period of absolute decadence. Cusachs also participated in official competitions; in 1887 he obtained notable recognition at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid with three paintings, one of which was acquired by the regent María Cristina ("En el campo de maniobras"). In 1891 he participated in the Berlin Exhibition and won the Gold Medal for his work "Maneuvers of division". Cusachs also stood out as a famous military portraitist, and painted, among others, General Prim, King Alfonso XIII in military uniform and Mexican President Profirio Díaz. The bulk of his work is collected in the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid and in the National Art Museum of Catalonia.