Gutiérrez Solana, José (1886-1945)

He began drawing with his uncle José Díez Palma, professor of drawing at the University of Salamanca. He studied at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. He settled in Madrid at the end of 1917, where, in addition to frequenting dances and picnic areas, the Prado Museum and the National Archaeological Museum, he became a regular at gatherings. During this period the painter had begun to develop his personal style, which was not at all academic and far removed from the avant-garde. His painting is ugly and emphasises the misery of a sordid and grotesque Spain. He also worked in engraving, generally with etching, insisting on a direct and rather rough technique, with thick strokes.
He hardly printed any engravings during his lifetime; the first formal print run of them dates from the year of his death, 1945, and the most widespread is the second, which was issued posthumously in 1963, before the original matrices were cancelled and deposited at the Calcografía Nacional.