Joaquín Cuadras (1843–1877) was a Cuban painter. He attended the art school of Antonio Ciseri in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 1861, Cuadras met fellow artist Walter Goodman whilst copying

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

paintings at the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

Palace in Florence, and the two became friends. They travelled to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 1862 and arrived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

a year later. In 1864, he sat for Walter Goodman's mother, the portrait painter Julia Goodman. Later that year, he travelled to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

with Walter Goodman. Red Shawl

After returning from Cuba in 1870, Cuadras moved to Selkirk,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for three years, where he found work decorating mansions for the Scottish elite. One of his most important commissions was a series of eight-panel pictures illustrating Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's ''The Lay of the Last Minstrel''. While in Scotland, Cuadras fathered a daughter with Elizabeth Christison in 1872. He named her Maria Josefita Cuadras, and she died in 1960 in Edinburgh. Many of his best works were exhibited at galleries in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Cuadras was represented at the Royal Academy in 1872 by his painting ''Mulatto Girl's Toilette, a Scene in Cuba'' (sold at Sotheby's, New York in 2010) and the following year he contributed two engravings ''The Cuban Lovers'' and ''The Mulatto Girl'' to

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...

magazine. In 1874, he exhibited ''Return the Christening,'' a painting of a scene in Venice with a christening party landing from a gondola, at the International Exhibition of Fine Arts in London. This painting is currently in the collection of The General Hospital, Jersey. Patioint

Between 1868 and 1869 Cuadras was director of Academia de Dibujo de

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. In 1876 he won a silver medal in an exhibition at Liceo Artístico y Literario de

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

.Cronologia de Santiago de Cuba. Oscar Ruiz Miyares 1998 Four of his notable Cuban works were ''Como de Médicis'', ''Río Baconao'', ''Orfila Coronado Por Una Diosa'' (1874), and ''Lección de Anatomía'' - the whereabouts of which are unknown today. There are examples of Cuadras' work in the Museo Bacardi in Santiago de Cuba and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana. Joaquín Cuadras died in Rome on 27 January 1877.

References

External links

Return the Christening

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuadras, Joaquin 1843 births 1877 deaths 19th-century Cuban painters 19th-century male artists Cuban expatriates in Italy Cuban expatriates Expatriates in the United Kingdom Cuban male painters