ENRIQUE MARTINEZ CUBELLS (Madrid, 1874 - Malaga,... Lot 28

ENRIQUE MARTINEZ CUBELLS (Madrid, 1874 - Malaga, 1947)._x000D_ "Marina"._x000D_ Oil on canvas._x000D_ Signed in the lower right corner._x000D_ Size: 37 x 44 cm; 58 x 63 cm (frame)._x000D_ Son of the Valencian painter Salvador Martínez Cubells, he began his training in his father's workshop, to later continue his studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Madrid and at the Special School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving in the same city. His style was freed from his father's influence following a trip to Europe in 1898. His admiration for German modern art led him to settle in Munich for four years, followed by stays in Venice, Paris and Amsterdam. During his travels around Europe, Martínez-Cubells was greatly influenced by European realist trends, at a time when his Spanish contemporaries were still making history paintings. His personal style was characterised by bold, synthetic brushstrokes, in addition to his great interest in the luminous aspects. More Nordic and austere than his Spanish colleagues, his conception of light is restrained and intimate, far removed from the blinding force of Sorolla. On his return to Spain, he was appointed professor at the Schools of Arts and Crafts and San Fernando in Madrid. He took part assiduously in the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, winning third medals in 1897, second in 1899 and 1901, and first in 1904 and 1912. The works that earned him these first medals were "Work, Rest and Family", in 1904, and "The Return from Fishing", in 1912. Subsequently, he was awarded a first medal at the Buenos Aires International Exhibition in 1910, as well as a grand prize at the Panama Exhibition in 1916. He later became a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. Between January and March 2003 Ibercaja presented the first anthological exhibition dedicated to this painter in Zaragoza. Enrique Martínez-Cubells worked mainly on genre themes with a social content, often of a fishing and maritime nature, although he also showed a predilection for urban landscapes, interiors and rural peasant scenes. He is represented in the Museo del Prado, the Museo Carmen Thyssen in Malaga and the Fine Arts Museums of Valencia, La Rioja, Malaga, Álava and San Sebastián, among others.