20th-21st Century Spanish

From 1953 to 1964 Alcaín studied at the School of Fine Arts in Madrid, at the National School of Graphic Arts and at the National School of Cinema. He even took part in the making of films including Canciones para después de una guerra and Nueve cartas a Berta, as well as in a number of stage plays.

From the outset, his style was defined by the influence of , though always tinged with a personal interpretation of genre and popular scenes. In the 1960s and 1970s, this genre approach gradually shifted towards a more critical painting that reflected his growing social commitment. Like many other Spanish artists at the time, he protested against the political situation but, in his case, it was always undercut by a note of humour and irony. After the reintroduction of democracy in Spain, Alcaín’s work underwent major changes, incorporating three-dimensional elements with the use of a broad variety of techniques and supports. Especially noteworthy is his series Cézanne petit-point, made between 1979 and 1981.

His career was distinguished with Spain’s National Visual Arts Prize in 2003 and with the Tomás Francisco Prieto Exonumia Prize in 2010.