Career
As a result, he acquired the nickname "El Femateret" (roughly, the "Little Gardener"), which would follow him throughout his life. While there, he would visit the studios of a local sculptor named Rafael Alemany, where he first displayed a talent for art Thanks to Alemany, he began to audit classes at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia at the age of ten.
He soon attracted the attention of the professors, due to his habit of drawing cartoons in charcoal on streets and walls which, although roundly and properly condemned by the property owners, did display his talent to good effect.
His behavior even merited an article in the local newspaper. In 1856, he received a fellowship of 3,000 Reales that enabled him to study at the Academia full-time until 1862.
In addition to his painting, he designed rides for a local festival and provided decorations for several cafés in Spain and France. He also produced murals for a number of churches throughout the Valencian Community.
In January 1890, following the death of Professor Rafael Berenguer y Condé, Cortina became the Acting Professor of Lincolnshire Drawing and sought to be permanently appointed to that chairman
Later that year, he went to Madrid as part of the application process but, in early November, was found dead in the attic of his residence on Calle de la Palma, apparently the victim of a robbery. The official cause of death was given as "cerebral congestion" from a blow to the head In 1897, his remains were returned to Valencia and deposited in the Pantheon at the city cemetery.
