Federico Armando Beltran Masses

FEDERICO ARMANDO BELTRÁN MASSES (Güira de Melena, Cuba, 1885 - Barcelona, 1949).
"The meadow".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 79 x 97 cm; 101 x 115 cm (frame).
The work presents an open field, populated by a large number of people, dressed in the fashion of the popular classes of Madrid in the nineteenth century on holidays. It can therefore be deduced that the work depicts one of the main celebrations of the patron saint of the city, which takes place in the so-called "meadow of San Isidro" and has been immortalized, among others, by Goya.
Beltrán Masses, despite his Cuban origin, studied art in Spain. He began his training at La Llotja School in Barcelona, and was a disciple of Joaquín Sorolla. In 1905 he moved to Madrid to study first-hand the works of the masters in the Prado Museum. In 1916 he settled in Paris, where he achieved great commercial success, receiving commissions from illustrious people in the United States, Belgium, Italy and India. He was a member of the Royal Academies of Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Lisbon, Cordoba and Malaga. He was also a member of the Hispanic Society of New York, the Institute of France, the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, knight of the Order of Malta and the French Legion of Honor, and general curator of the International Art Exhibition in Bordeaux in 1928. He participated in many exhibitions and shows, such as the one held at the Sala Parés in Barcelona in 1910, the Hispano-French Fine Arts Exhibition in Paris in 1919 and the Venice Biennial in 1921. In 1924 he received the Cordon de Isabel la Católica, and in 1934 he exhibited his works at the Royal Watercolour Society in London. Among his official commissions, the portrait he painted of King Alfonso XIII stands out. In 2007 a retrospective exhibition of Federico Beltrán Masses was held at the Casa Lis Museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Beltrán Masses devoted himself to both landscape and figure painting, although towards the end of his career he focused fully on portraiture. He developed a totally unique style, influenced by the great Spanish masters but decidedly modern. Works by Beltrán Masses are currently preserved in the Prado Museum, the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris, the Casa Lis in Salamanca and the Reina Sofía in Madrid.