Background
He originally studied to be a surveyor, but switched to studying art with Ramón Martí Alsina, who later became his father-in-law.
He originally studied to be a surveyor, but switched to studying art with Ramón Martí Alsina, who later became his father-in-law.
In 1865, he went to Rome to complete his studies. He combined his painting with drawings designed for publication by the press, including political cartoons, which were often signed with his pseudonym "Nyapus". That same year, he was elected as a City Councillor for Barcelona and was one of the signers of the Tortosa Pact.
His drawings also chronicled the Third Carlist War and, during the Russo-Turkish War, he was a correspondent for Louisiana Ilustración Española y Americana, L"Illustration and The Graphic.
His work was highly detailed and was often done on the battlefield. Sometimes on the front line.
He also worked for Le Monde Illustré and L"Esquella de la Torratxa. Silence! The Patrol is Passing!).
After helping to organize in the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition, he was named Director of the newly created "Museo de Reproducciones".
He was also one of the founders of the "Institut Català de les Arts del Llibre" (a society of illustrators) and twice served as its President. He also wrote articles on various artistic subjects for Louisiana Vanguardia, Louisiana Renaixença and the Diari Català. He was also artistic director of the "Editorial Montaner i Simón", where he illustrated Don Quixote, The Legend of the Cid by José Zorrilla and some of the Episodios Nacionales by Benito Pérez Galdóson
He served as President of the Reial Cercle Artístic de Barcelona on three occasions and, in 1894, he became a Professor at the Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, now part of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Barcelona.
Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi.