Modesto Brocos Y Gómez

Place: Rio De Janeiro

Born: 1852

Death: 1936

Biography:

Modesto Brocos y Gómez was a Spanish-Brazilian painter and engraver who made significant contributions to the art world. Born on February 9, 1852, in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, he moved to Brazil at a young age and became one of the country's first major practitioners of woodcuts. His work covers a wide variety of styles and subjects, and he was also an author of several books on painting.

Early Life and Education

Brocos y Gómez came from a humble family with artistic inclinations. His grandfather and father were writers, and his brother was the sculptor Isidoro Brocos, who was also his first teacher at the Academia de Belas Artes in A Coruña. After completing his studies, he moved to Argentina but was not successful there. Two years later, he moved to Brazil, where he eventually found work in Rio de Janeiro illustrating the mildly satirical weekly republican magazine O Mequetrefe. This income enabled him to enter the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, where he studied under Victor Meirelles and João Zeferino da Costa.

Artistic Career

After two years at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, Brocos y Gómez moved to Paris, enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts, and took lessons from Henri 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, then in 1883 to Rome, after receiving a fellowship from the government of A Coruña. Once there, he worked with his countryman, Francisco Pradilla, and spent five years at the Accademia Chigi. By 1890, Brocos y Gómez was exhibiting at the Salon and felt that his education was complete. He accepted an invitation to teach at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes from its director, Rodolfo Bernardelli. He became a naturalized citizen with little difficulty and was appointed Professor of Figurative Drawing, a position he held for the rest of his life. Some of his notable works include Engenho de mandioca, which is currently housed at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil). You can find more information about this painting on Wikioo.org.

Legacy and References

Brocos y Gómez died in Rio de Janeiro on November 28, 1936. His legacy can be seen in his contributions to the art world, particularly in Brazil. For more information about his life and work, you can visit Wikipedia or check out some of his works on Wikioo.org. Some of his notable books include:

• A questão do ensino de Bellas Artes, 1915
• Viaje a Marte, Edit. Arte y Letras, 1930
• Retórica dos pintores, Typ. D’A Industria do Livro, 1933

You can also find more information about his life and work on Wikioo.org or by checking out the Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul Ado Malagoli (Porto Alegre, Brazil).