Ignacio Pinazo

IGNACIO PINAZO CAMARLENCH (Valencia, 1849 – Godella, Valencia, 1916).
“Soldier,” 1900.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 34 x 21 cm; 49 x 37 cm (frame).
In this scene, Pinazo demonstrates his great virtuosity with the brush. Combining fleeting touches with longer brushstrokes—arranged either horizontally or vertically—the artist constructs his composition through this technical interplay, shaped by his use of color. Featuring a young boy accompanied by several goats swirling around him, it is worth noting that this theme defines an entire facet of the artist’s work, in which he had a particular fondness for depicting children’s portraits—often featuring his own children.
Born into a humble family, Pinazo was forced from a very young age to contribute to his family’s livelihood through various occupations. He had only completed the eighth grade when his mother died of cholera, so he soon had to take on various trades, including silversmithing, tile decoration, pottery, gilding, and fan painting. After his father’s death, he went to live with his grandfather, and in 1864 he enrolled in the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under José Fernández Olmos. During this time, he earned a living as a hatmaker. He began his artistic training at the age of twenty-one, achieving his first success three years later in Barcelona. In 1871, he exhibited his work for the first time at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. He visited Rome twice: the first time in 1873, thanks to the sale of a painting, and the second time on a scholarship, from 1876 to 1881. There he began his major historical works, which broke away from the conventions of the genre. In his early period, he developed an academic style, but beginning in 1874, he adopted a more intimate and impressionistic approach to painting. Upon his return to Valencia, he abandoned historical subjects and instead began painting family portraits, nudes, and scenes of everyday life. As a result, he is now considered a precursor—both in subject matter and style—to Joaquín Sorolla and Francisco Domingo. In 1884, Pinazo temporarily left Valencia due to a cholera epidemic, settling in the house that the banker José Jaumandreu owned in Bétera. From his return that same year until 1886, he taught at the School of Fine Arts in Valencia. During these years, he received numerous commissions from the Valencian aristocracy, counting among his clients prominent figures such as the Marquise of Benicarló. Pinazo exhibited his works at the National Fine Arts Exhibitions in Madrid, winning silver medals in 1881 and 1885 and gold medals in 1897 and 1899. In 1896, he was elected a member of the San Carlos Academy, and in 1906, he was also elected to the San Fernando Academy in Madrid. In 1900, he collaborated on the decoration of the grand staircase at Don José Ayora’s mansion, alongside Antonio Fillol, Peris Brell, Ricardo Verde, and Luis Beüt. Around this time, he received a royal medal, and in 1912, the city of Valencia named a street after him. Upon his death in 1916, a series of events were held to commemorate his life and work. Pinazo’s work is currently represented at the Prado Museum, the MACBA in Barcelona, the Museum and the Circle of Fine Arts in Valencia, her House-Museum in Godella, and the Valencian Provincial Council, as well as in various significant private collections.