Eduardo Zamacois

EDUARDO ZAMACOIS Y ZABALA (Bilbao, 1842 - Madrid, 1871).
"The inopportune visit", ca.1866.
Oil on panel.
There is a version with slight variations in the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao.
Measurements: 22.2 x 26.1 cm; 39 x 43 cm (frame).

This delightful genre scene, impregnated with fine humor and technical expertise, is a representative work of the narrative talent of Eduardo Zamacois. The unwelcome visit" introduces us to a painter's studio, conceived as a small theatrical stage where the moment in which the intimacy between the painter and his model is interrupted is represented. The young model, completely naked, sitting on a pedestal covered by a draped cloth, turns around nervously and modestly, hastily trying to cover herself with a sheet before the unexpected entrance of a parish priest. The painter, brushes and palette in hand, adopts a pose of complicit discomfort as he tries to contain the entrance of the old man, who peeks through the door with a surprised gesture. From the whole emanates a visual dialogue charged with narrative tension and comic content. The scene is exquisitely set: the wood paneled walls, the paintings hung and supported, the drawings scattered on the floor and the screen that barely conceals the nudity of the model evoke with endearing verism the world of the nineteenth-century artist.

Zamacois deploys in this panel a meticulous, almost miniaturist technique, heir to French history painting and Dutch detail. The richness of textures (the coldness of the wood, the softness of the cloth, the smoothness of the skin) and the care in the representation of the furniture reveal an extraordinary mastery of the material and lighting effects. The light, directed with theatrical intelligence, falls on the model's body, accentuating her vulnerability and giving the scene a counterpoint of restrained sensuality.

A painter framed within the romantic costumbrismo, Eduardo Zamacois showed from a very young age his inclination for painting, beginning his training in his native Bilbao with the teachers Joaquín Balaca and Cosme Duñabeitia. Soon after, he moved with his family to Madrid, and finally entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1856. There he would be a disciple of Federico de Madrazo. Under his tutelage he dedicated himself to making copies in the Prado Museum, especially of Velázquez, Ribera and Murillo, thus developing his skill in drawing and color. In 1860 he went to Paris on the advice of his teacher, who had him among his favorite pupils, and recommended him to continue his training with Ernest Meissonier, one of the most famous genre painters of the time. In his studio, Zamacois refined his technique based on the preciosist meticulousness, so admired at the time. At the same time, he studied at the Imperial and Special Drawing Schools. His stay in the city on the Seine brought him into contact with intellectuals such as Cabanel, Bonnat and Alexandre Dumas, as well as with art dealers such as Retlinger, who offered him a contract. Around this time, the Provincial Council of Biscay granted him a scholarship for his studies, which allowed him to dedicate himself to his work and to the cultural richness that Parisian life offered. In this sense, he was a regular customer of the Café Moulouse, where he shared gatherings with José Laguna, Eduardo León Escura or Jean Vibert, among others. A regular exhibitor at the official Paris Salons, in 1867 he was awarded the first medal. The following year we find him in Rome installed in the study of Fortuny, who at that time was in Madrid. Around this time he signed an advantageous contract with the prominent art dealer Adolphe Goupil, who opened the doors to important buyers such as Matilde Bonaparte, the princes Metternich or the writer Charles Dickens. A year later Fortuny moved to Paris and Zamacois introduced him to the cultural life of the city by introducing him to Meissonier and the Vibert circle of painters. During these years Zamacois participated in various editions of the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, where he received honorary mention of third class in 1860 and third medal in 1862, 1864 and 1867. His fame was growing, until in 1870 he obtained the gold medal at the Paris Salon and was decorated with the Legion of Honor. Shortly after, as a result of the war between France and Prussia, he returned to Madrid. He died there soon after, at the early age of twenty-nine. His work is preserved in the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Municipal Museum of Malaga, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown (Massachusetts), among many others.