Antonio Muñoz Degraín

ANTONIO MUÑOZ DEGRAÍN (Valencia, 1840 - Málaga, 1924).
Untitled.
Watercolor on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 60,5 x 105,5 cm.
This work is a faithful reflection of Degraín's skill in atmospheric capture. The reflections of the leaden sky find their response in an arid land, with ochre tones that dominate the landscape. In the center, as part of the vanishing point, a race seems to move away from the viewer and follow its course. However, the work does not give prominence to the human figure, nor to its effects on the environment, since the author focuses his attention on the lyrical expression of the landscape itself.

Antonio Muñoz Degraín began studying architecture in his youth by his father's decision, although he soon abandoned it for painting. A student at the Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia from the age of twelve, he was a disciple of the painter Rafael Montesinos, although his training was essentially self-taught. He took part assiduously in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts from 1862 to 1915, being his successes in these contests the ones that would decisively mark his artistic career. In 1862 he was awarded an honorary medal, third in 1864 and second in 1867 and 1871. Called in 1870 to decorate the Cervantes Theater in Malaga, he settled in this Andalusian capital for good. There he married, and years later he was appointed supernumerary professor of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Telmo (1879). From the Academy, Muñoz Degraín was the teacher of a whole generation of artists, among them the very young Picasso, who would always show him his affection and respect. In 1881 the painter obtained a first medal at the National with "Othello and Desdemona" (Museu do Chiado, Lisbon), which gave him a government pension to finally make the desired trip to Rome, also visiting several cities in Tuscany and Venice. In Italy he painted his great masterpiece, "Los amantes de Teruel" (Museo del Prado), one of the capital pieces of Spanish painting of the 19th century, which the painter sent to the National Exhibition of Madrid in 1884, obtaining the first medal. From then on, his growing prestige brought him numerous honors and public rewards. He was named Knight of the orders of Isabella the Catholic, Charles III and Alfonso XII, received the medal of honor at the National Exhibition of 1910 and obtained in 1898, on the death of Carlos de Haes, the chair of landscape painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He was appointed a member of that institution the following year, and director in 1901. He was also president of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Muñoz Degraín also enjoyed notable success abroad, presenting his paintings to the Universal Exhibitions of Philadelphia (1876), Munich (1883) and Chicago (1893). He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia and others.