19th Century Spanish

An artist from Seville known for his depiction of bullfighting and genre scenes, Chaves Ortiz trained at the city’s School of Fine Arts, where he studied under Eduardo Cano (1823-1897) and Manuel Barrón y Carrillo(1814-1884), and whose director at the time was Antonio Cabral Bejarano (1824-1890) another artist specialising in bullfighting.

He was actively involved in the cultural life of his hometown. He collaborated in the Sociedad Protectora de Bellas Artes [Protector of Fine Arts Society] and was a founding member of Academia Libre de Bellas Artes [Free Academy of Fine Arts], an institution dedicated to teaching art and organising exhibitions.

Chaves Ortiz used a wide spectrum of different techniques in his creative production, ranging from oil and tempera painting, watercolours, pastel and even lithography. In order to ensure the greatest sense of realism possible in his works he used to make many sketches from life and take countless notes and preliminary drawings.

He earned a reputation primarily for his bullfighting scenes and other themes related with bulls. Among his contemporaries he was the artist who dedicated himself most enthusiastically to this whole world.

He travelled on various occasions to Madrid and to Paris, where he learned the photogravure technique.