Daniel Vázquez

Daniel Vázquez settled in Paris from 1906-18, where he discovered Cubism, which appealed to him. In the 1930s he painted frescoes of the voyages of Columbus in the monastery of La Rabida in Spain and became a professor of mural painting in Madrid. He was among the great Spanish painters of the 20th century, starting his studies in Sevilla with economics, and concurrently training in the arts on his own. He later studied art in Madrid. He married his muse, the Danish sculptor Eva Preetsman Aggerholm (1882– 1959).

Vázquez’s works, including landscapes and portraits, were structured with great simplicity and sober gray colors. They were marked by his interest in Cubism and especially influenced by Cézanne. His landscapes were deeply influenced by the Basque County, where he spent several summers.

The painting Retrato de Rafael esquiador shows his son Rafael as a skier. Painted in oil on canvas, it was created in 1948 sized 236 x 105 cm and is part of the collection of the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid but is exhibited in the museum of his hometown Nerva.