JOSEP CUSACHS (Montpellier, France, 1851 - Barcelona,... Lot 49

JOSEP CUSACHS (Montpellier, France, 1851 - Barcelona, 1908). "Military Scene", 1894. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. It has a label from the Sala Parés in Barcelona on the back. Restoration visible on the back. Measurements: 101 x 51 cm; 124 x 74 cm (frame). The military theme was undeniably at the top of Cusachs' production, a theme from which he drew an infinite number of situations, among which we should highlight those in which displays of friendship and comradeship replace the aggressiveness that would be characteristic of battle scenes for other artists. This is beautifully captured here: a wounded soldier rests his head on the shoulder of his companion, who tries to support his friend and at the same time keep the unruly horse calm. The equine foreshortening shows a great mastery of drawing and light management, and the soft chromatic shifts build up the horses' anatomies, exalting the nobility of their bearing. The satiny qualities of the horses' coats, together with the military uniforms, stand out against a landscape that veers in shades of grey and silver. The bare trees complete the melancholy, autumnal atmosphere of the scene. A body lies on the ground, camouflaged by the grass, and in the distance the army advances at a measured pace. All this enriches the composition with different narrative and spatial planes. José Cusachs was accidentally born in France, as his parents were travelling there, but his art and his life were always linked to two places: Barcelona and Mataró. In 1865, after passing a competitive examination, he entered the Artillery Academy for a military career. However, in 1882, after a brilliant career that led him to become a captain in the army for war merits, he requested retirement to devote himself to painting. Trained in Barcelona under the guidance of Simón Gómez, he completed his artistic studies with a stay in Paris at the studio of Édouard Détaille, one of the greatest experts in military themes, a genre that became Cusachs's favourite. During these years he made his work known through individual exhibitions, such as those he held regularly from 1884 onwards at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, which were always a great success with both sales and critics. By 1890 he was already a regular exhibitor at the gallery, where he showed new works every week. The bond between Cusachs and the Sala Parés was so deep, in fact, that after the painter's death the gallery fell into a period of absolute decadence. Cusachs also took part in official competitions; in 1887 he obtained notable recognition at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid with three paintings, one of which was acquired by the regent Maria Cristina ("En el campo de maniobras" ("On the Manoeuvre Field"). In 1891 he took part in the Berlin Exhibition and won the Gold Medal for his work "Division Manoeuvres". Cusachs was also a celebrated military portraitist, and painted General Prim, King Alfonso XIII in military uniform and Mexican President Profirio Díaz, among others. The bulk of his work is in the Museo de Arte Moderno in Madrid and the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña.