Ignacio Zuloaga

IGNACIO ZULOAGA Y ZABALETA (Eibar, Guipuzcoa, 1870 - Madrid, 1945).
"Portrait of the Baroness of Bishelz".1920.
Watercolor on paper.
Signed.
Attached to the back a typed letter that Zuloaga sent to the portrait, in which this drawing is mentioned.
Measurements: 50 x 38 cm; 67,5 x 55 cm (frame).

Ignacio Zuloaga made this watercolor portrait of the Baroness de Bishelz as a preparatory drawing for a later oil painting of the lady, which can be deduced from the attached letter that Zuloaga sent to the Baroness. In it, he asked for her approval as to the "colors of the dress and the cloak" in this portrait in order to be able to proceed to the definitive version, which we presume was to be in oil. Since female portraits are one of Ignacio Zuloaga's favorite subjects, the drawing presented here demonstrates the ability of the artist from Eibar to create works full of psychological depth, realism and expressiveness. The severe countenance conveys a haughty temperament of the lady, who wears a cotton and silk dress and covers her shoulders with a cloak brocaded with silver thread.

Son of the notable damascene artist Plácido Zuloaga, and nephew of Daniel Zuloaga, one of the most outstanding Spanish ceramists of his time, Ignacio Zuloaga worked as a child in his father's workshop, where he had his first contact with drawing and engraving. He later began studying engineering, but abandoned his studies to devote himself to painting. He acquired his artistic training at the Prado Museum, copying Ribera, Goya, Velázquez and El Greco, of whom he would be one of the first propagators. In 1887 he presented a painting at the National Exhibition in Madrid, entitled "A priest praying in an old room". After a first trip to Rome in 1889, where he imbibed the Renaissance masters, Zuloaga went to Paris, where he met French artists such as M. Dethomas and Rodin, with whom he became great friends. He also met Miguel Utrillo and Santiago Rusiñol, and with the latter he traveled again to Italy. In Paris he came to practice pointillism and impressionism, and participated in some group exhibitions at the gallery Le Bar de Boutteville, frequented by the symbolists. However, the search for his own roots took him to Andalusia, where he spent some time between 1894 and 1897. In the latter year, in Segovia, he painted "My uncle and my cousins", a painting that he presented at the Paris Salon and which was acquired by the French State. In 1898 he married and settled in Madrid, although he made frequent trips to the French capital. The following year he presented his "Family Portrait" at the Paris Salon, which was also acquired by the French Government. From 1903 onwards he took part in international exhibitions and his fame grew. Between 1906 and 1913 he worked in Segovia, attracted by the austerity of the Castilian landscape and the quiet and humble dignity of its inhabitants, influenced by the ideology of the Generation of '98. In 1908 he was invited to present an exhibition in New York. At the outbreak of World War I he returned to the Basque Country and lived in a 12th century monastery in Zumaya (Guipúzcoa), later converted into a museum, where he installed his rich collection of works of art, including paintings by El Greco and Goya. Such was his admiration for the Aragonese master that he even bought his birthplace in Fuendetodos. Likewise, in 1926 he acquired the castle of Pedraza (Segovia), also converted into a museum.
Ignacio Zuloaga is today considered, together with Gutiérrez Solana, the continuator of the tradition of Spanish painting throughout the 20th century. He is currently represented in prominent museums such as the Prado Museum (works attached to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía), as well as in others around the world such as the Orsay, Rodin and the National Museum of Versailles in Paris, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan in New York, the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid or the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, among many others.