Modesto Brocos y Gómez (9 February 1852 – 28 November 1936) was a Spanish painter and engraver, who became a naturalized Brazilian citizen. His work covers a wide variety of styles and subjects, and he was the author of several books on painting. He is also notable for his promotion of

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

in Brazil, especially

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s, of which he had been one of his adopted country's first major practitioners during his time at ''O Mequetrefe''.

Biography

He was born in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

, Galicia, Spain, into a humble family with artistic inclinations. His grandfather and father were writers and his brother was the sculptor ,DezenoveVinte:
''Modesto Brocos: A Retórica dos Pintores'', by José Luiz da Silva Nunes. who was also his first teacher at the Academia de Belas Artes in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

. At the age of eighteen, after completing his studies, he moved to Argentina, but wasn't successful there. Two years later he moved to Brazil, where he eventually found work in Rio de Janeiro illustrating the mildly satirical weekly

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

magazine ''O Mequetrefe'' (a term that describes a nosy person who is a bit of a scamp). This income enabled him to enter the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, where he studied under

Victor Meirelles Victor Meirelles de Lima (18 August 1832 – 22 February 1903) was a Brazilian painter and teacher who is best known for his works relating to his nation's culture and history. From humble origins, his talent was soon recognized, being admitted as ...

and

João Zeferino da Costa João Zeferino da Costa (August 25, 1840 – August 24, 1915) was a Brazilian painter and designer. Life and work He began his studies in 1857 at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (AIBA) under the direction of Victor Meirelles.

.Biography
@ the Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural. After two years there, he moved to Paris, enrolled 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 ...

and took lessons from

Henri Lehmann Henri Lehmann (; 14 April 1814 – 30 March 1882) was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist. Life Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann ( ...

. Dissatisfied with what he was being taught, he moved on to Madrid, where he studied briefly at the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

), then in 1883 to Rome, after receiving a fellowship from the government of A Coruña. Once there, he worked with his countryman,

Francisco Pradilla Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (24 July 1848 – 1 November 1921) was a prolific Spanish painter famous for creating historical scenes. Biography He was born in Villanueva de Gállego, in Zaragoza Province and began his studies in Zaragoza. He ...

and spent five years at the Accademia Chigi. By 1890, he was exhibiting at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

and felt that his education was complete, so he accepted an invitation to teach at the

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of Nov 20 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e Fig ...

(successor to the Imperial Academy) from its Director,

Rodolfo Bernardelli José Maria Oscar Rodolfo Bernardelli y Thierry (18 December 1852, Guadalajara - 7 April 1931, Rio de Janeiro) was a Mexican-born Brazilian sculptor and art professor, of Italian ancestry. Biography He was the oldest of four children born to a v ...

. He was able to become a naturalized citizen with little difficulty, and was appointed Professor of Figurative Drawing there, a position he held for the rest of his life, with a brief leave of absence to create some decorations for the

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

. Brocos died in Rio de Janeiro on 28 November 1936.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Brocos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocos, Modesto 1852 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Brazilian painters 19th-century Brazilian male artists 20th-century Brazilian painters 20th-century Brazilian male artists 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Brazilian people of Galician descent Naturalized citizens of Brazil People from Santiago de Compostela

Biography

References

Further reading

Books by Brocos

Others

External links