Rafael de Penagos

RAFAEL DE PENAGOS (Madrid, 1889-1954).
"In the office", 1936.
Watercolor on paper.
Signed and dated in the upper right area.
Measurements: 20 x 37 cm; 34 x 51,5 cm (frame).
Formed in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, where he receives classes of Emilio Sala and Antonio Muñoz Degrain. He participates in the cultural environment of Madrid and assiduously attends the gatherings of Valle-Inclán in the Nuevo Café de Levante. In 1913, he gets a scholarship to go to Paris and London. Upon his return, he began to develop an intense activity as a poster designer and publicist for different commercial houses. At the same time, he worked as an illustrator for the main magazines of the time, such as Nuevo Mundo, La Esfera or Blanco y Negro, and for publishers such as El Cuento Semanal, La Novela Corta or Prometeo. In 1925, he received the most prestigious award of the time: the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris. In 1948 he went into exile in South America (Chile and Argentina). In 1953 he returned to Spain and, a year later, he died in Madrid, where he had occupied the chair of Drawing at the Cervantes Institute.