Amedeo Modigliani - Retrato (Manuel Ortiz de Zárate)

Manuel Ortiz de Zárate Pinto (October 9, 1887 – October 28, 1946) was a Chilean painter, born in Italy and raised in Chile. He was active from 1902 to 1945, in Paris and in Italy.

Biography

Born as Manuel Revuelta Ortiz de Zárate Pinto in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He came from an old Castilian family from Province of Ávila, the son of composer, Eleodoro Ortiz de Zárate and of Matilde Pinto Benavente. He was the younger brother of painter, Julio Ortiz de Zárate. His maternal grandfather was

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisco ...

, the Chilean President. He was four years old when the family moved back to Chile. He went on to study painting with

Pedro Lira Pedro Francisco Lira Rencoret (17 May 1845, Santiago – 20 April 1912, Santiago) was a Chilean painter and art critic, who organized exhibitions that led to the establishment of the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts. He is best known for h ...

, before entering the Escuela de Bellas Artes (Academy of Fine Arts) in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. At age 15, he fled home and stowed away on a ship to Italy. He studied painting in Rome, before being drawn to the burgeoning art scene in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he made his way to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. There, he became part of the growing gathering of artists in the

Montparnasse Quarter Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has be ...

, making friends with

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Léonard Foujita, and some of the other future greats of the art world. Manuel Ortiz de Zárate studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris, developing his modernist skills in the painting of still lifes and landscapes. In 1916, he became Picasso's art assistant. Between 1920 until 1940, Ortiz de Zárate showed his work at the

Salon d’Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

, an annual art exhibition in Paris, France. Together with

Camilo Mori Camilo Mori Serrano (September 24, 1896 – December 7, 1973) was a Chilean painter and a founder of the '' Grupo Montparnasse''. The son of an Italian immigrant, Camilo Mori entered the "Escuela de Bellas Artes" (School of Fine Arts) at the Univ ...

and other artists from Chile, Manuel Ortiz de Zárate helped found the Grupo Montparnasse. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he remained in France despite the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupation. After the war, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he died in 1946 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His daughter Laure Ortiz de Zárate was a costume designer and her first husband was the American abstract painter,

John Ferren John Millard Ferren (October 17, 1905 – July 1, 1970) was an American artist and educator. He was active from 1920 until 1970 in San Francisco, Paris and New York City. Early life John Ferren was born in Pendleton, Oregon on October 17, ...

from 1932 until 1938; her second husband was the Russian-born production designer

Eugène Lourié Eugène Lourié (russian: Евгений Лурье; 8 April 1903 – 26 May 1991) was a French film director, art director, production designer, set designer and screenwriter who was known for his collaborations with Jean Renoir and for his 1 ...

from 1941 until 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz de Zarate, Manuel 1887 births 1946 deaths Modern painters 19th-century Chilean painters 19th-century Chilean male artists Chilean male artists 19th-century Spanish male artists 20th-century Chilean painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Chilean male painters 19th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish painters Male painters 20th-century Chilean male artists