Eduardo Sánchez Solá

EDUARDO SÁNCHEZ SOLÁ (Madrid, 1869 - Granada, 1949).
"Altar boys".
Oil on canvas.
Preserves period frame.
Measurements: 70 x 100 cm; 99 x 127 cm (frame).
In this work we see a theme very much to the taste of the Spanish bourgeoisie of the second half of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century, the costumbrista scenes, cheerful and narrative, starring mischievous altar boys. Most commonly, these scenes were treated as we see here, with a precise and descriptive drawing and special attention to detail, both in gestures, expressions and clothing as well as in the scenery surrounding the boys, usually interiors such as the one depicted here, a richly decorated room of the church.
Sánchez Solá was trained at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts, where his teachers were Alejandro Ferrant and Luis Taberner. Later he was a professor at the School of Arts and Crafts in Granada, and a contributor to the art magazine "La Ilustración Española y Americana". He participated assiduously in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, being awarded with honorable mention in 1895; medal of third class in 1897 for the canvas "Tristes noticias" and in 1899 for "El destete"; decoration in 1901 and honorable mention in Decorative Art in 1904. He also exhibited in the Regional of Modern Art of Granada, in the one of the Artistic Center in 1942 and in the one of Linares in 1943. Sánchez Solá specialized in oil paintings where he reflected scenes of games of the altar boys of the time, in the interior of Andalusian churches. In them, the artist was able to capture the expressiveness and movement of the children, who generally appear concentrated in a game. That is why he is known as "the painter of the altar boys", preserving works of this genre as "Short and tight", "Do what you want", "Mischief", etc.. He was also known as a painter of portraits and landscapes. Sánchez Solá is currently represented in the Prado Museum and the Provincial Museum of Lugo, as well as in several private collections.