Antonio Cánovas del Castillo y Vallejo, better known as Kaulak (22 December 1862,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

– 13 September 1933, Madrid) was a Spanish photographer, art critic, editor and amateur painter. His uncle was the assassinated Prime Minister,

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...

, hence his use of a pseudonym; the meaning of which is unexplained, although the word appears to be of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

origin.

Biography

He was originally a lawyer, and held several public offices before deciding to devote himself to photography. This included high positions in the ministries of Interior and Justice, as well as holding a seat in the

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...

(legislature), representing the constituency of Cieza, in the early 1890s. He also served for a brief period as in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. During this time, he wrote art criticism for the illustrated version of ', and studied painting under the tutelage of

Carlos de Haes Carlos Sebastián Pedro Hubert de Haes (January 25, 1829 – June 17, 1898) was a Spanish painter from Belgium.Caso, E. F., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Espagnole,'' ACR edition, 1997, p. 128 He was noted for the Realism in his landscapes, a ...

; signing his works as "Vascano". As for his photographic activity, he opposed

pictorialism Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...

, which was the prevalent approach at the time, in favor of professional portraits, rendered in a "purist" manner. He eventually came to be known as the "Spanish

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...

". His portraits encompassed a wide range of notables, including Prime Minister,

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, and studied law in Madrid. In 1878, Maura married Constanci ...

, writers such as

José de Echegaray José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, his fellow photographer, , and the

torero A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

, , as well as members of the Royal Family. In 1901, he created the magazine, ''La Fotografía'', which for many years served as the official organ of the .P. López Mondéjar, ''Historia de la fotografía en España'', 1999, Lunwerg editores He also collaborated with several other magazines, including ''

Blanco y Negro Blanco y Negro Records (Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also involved ...

'' and, in 1902, won a prize sponsored by that magazine, to provide illustrations for ', a book of poems by

Ramón de Campoamor Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

. They were later issued as postcards. He also created a series of postcards with the Swiss-born photographers, Adolfo Menet (1866-1927) and Oscar Hauser. He opened the Kaulak Studios on the

Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...

in 1904, and immediately attracted an upper-class clientele. In 1912, he published a technical manual: ''La fotografía moderna. Manual compendiado de los conocimientos indispensables del fotógrafo'', under his real name. He died in Madrid, aged seventy, and was interred at

Saint Isidore Cemetery Saint Isidore Cemetery is a monumental cemetery in the Spanish capital Madrid. Its first courtyard was erected in 1811 and new expansions were added throughout the 19th Century. Its central courtyard, called “Patio de la Concepción” (Concepti ...

. His studio was operated by his family, except for a period during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, and remained in business until 1989.

Selected works

File:Enrique Borrás por Kaulak.png, File:Rosario Pino, en "Amor y Ciencia", de Kaulak.jpg, File:Antonio Maura, de Kaulak.jpg,

Carmencita de Icaza y de León, de Kaulak.jpg,

Carmen de Icaza María Carmen de Icaza y de León, 8th Baroness of Claret (17 May 1899 – 16 March 1979) was a Spanish journalist and novelist from 1935–60.Maureen Ihrie & Salvador Oropesa. ''World Literature in Spanish: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia'', p ...

File:Alfonso XIII, de Kaulak.jpg, King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

File:Matilde Moreno, de Kaulak, en Mundo Gráfico.jpg, File:Eduardo Dato, por Kaulak.jpg,

Eduardo Dato Eduardo Dato e Iradier (12 August 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Spanish political leader during the Spanish Restoration period. He served three times as Spanish prime minister: from 27 October 1913 to 9 December 1915, from 11 June 1917 to 3 Nov ...

References

External links

"Un excelente artista: ha muerto Kaulak"
obituary from ' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaulak 1862 births 1933 deaths Spanish photographers Members of the Cortes Generales Spanish art critics Spanish editors People from Madrid

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links