Jose Gutierrez Solana was a Spanish painter, engraver and author who was a key figure in the Spanish cultural revival of the early 20th century.
Background
Jose Gutierrez Solana was born on February 28, 1886 in Madrid, Spain.
His father was born in Mexico and came to Spain after receiving an inheritance from his relatives in Ruesga, marrying a cousin from Arredondo.
Education
His first lessons came from his uncle, José Díez Palma, a professor of drawing. From 1900 to 1904, Solana studied at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1909, his parents moved to Cantabria, so he divided his time between Santander and Madrid. He also made frequent trips to La Mancha, Aragón and Andalucía.
Career
Jose Gutierrez Solana first exhibited his work in 1907 at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. He settled in Madrid in 1917, where he frequented the parks, the Museo del Prado and the National Archaeological Museum. He became a regular at the Nuevo Café de Levante and also attended the tertulias at the Café Pombo, where he met with fellow painters, writers and other notable intellectuals. It was during this period that his personal style found full expression.
In addition to his paintings, he wrote several books; mostly accounts of his travels and descriptions of local customs. In 1926, he wrote a novel "Florencio Cornejo".
Solana held the exhibition of his works in Paris in 1928, but achieved fame throughout Europe only by 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. At that time, he went to Paris, following a brief stay in Valencia. After the war, he returned to Madrid, where he remained until his death.
Solana died on June 24, 1945 in Madrid, Spain.