Josep Cusachs

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisCusachsand the second or maternal family name isCusachs.

Photographed in 1908 by the Napoleon Photographic Company.

José Cusachs y Cusachs(19 July 1851,Montpellier– 1908,Barcelona) was aSpanishsoldier and painter.

Biography

He was born in France, while his parents were travelling, but spent most of his life in the area between Barcelona andMataró.In 1865, he enrolled at the "Academia Militar de Artillería" inSegovia,became a Captain, and fought in theThird Carlist War.He retired with the rank of Commander in 1882 to dedicate himself to art.His army experience was still an important part of his life, however, and his paintings were mostly on military subjects, especially the cavalry, due to his love for horses. He studied locally withSimó Gómez,and in Paris withÉdouard Detaille,an expert onmilitary art.

Josep Cusachs, byRamon Casas(date unknown)

His first exhibition came in 1884 at theSala Parés,a major art gallery in Barcelona, where he continued to exhibit regularly, with great critical and financial success. Three years later, he participated in an exposition in Madrid, where his paintingEn el campo de maniobras(Maneuvers in the Field), was purchased by QueenMaría Cristina.In 1891, he won a gold medal at the International Exposition in Berlin withManiobras de división(Divisional Maneuvers).

In addition to his military art, he stood out as a portrait painter, with such notable sitters as KingAlfonso XIII,GeneralJuan Primand Mexican PresidentPorfirio Díaz,(on display at the State Art Museum of Veracruz inOrizaba). He also dealt with religious themes, including his well-knownLa huída a Egipto(The Flight from Egypt), which is in theSanta Maria de Montserrat Abbey.

In later years, he specialized in paintings of sport riding. The landscapes in many of his works were often entrusted to other painters, as he felt that he lacked the training to execute them properly.A good selection of his illustrations may be found inMilitary Life in SpainbyFrancesc Barado(Ramirez, 1888).

He died in 1908 (some sources say 1909) inBarcelona.

Selected paintings

• 
  At theRacecourse
• 
  Soldier
• 
  Awaiting the Return
• 
  Artillery Regiment
• 
  Josep Puigcarbó by Josep Cusachs

Further reading

• Pedro Mora i Piris,Josep Cusachs i Cusachs,Museo Militar de Montjuïc, Barcelona, 2001. (exhibition catalog)

External links

Media related toJosep Cusachs i Cusachsat Wikimedia Commons

• Ciudad de la Pintura:Gallery of paintings by Cusachs