CARLOS BACA FLOR FALCÓN (Islay, Arequipa,1867 -Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris,1941)
"Old man playing the violin", 1903.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, dated and located (Paris) in the lower left corner.
Size: 65 x 54 cm; 83 x 72,5 cm (frame).
The work stands out for its great clarity in the psychological capture of the main character, the quality of the drawing, and an aesthetic heritage of a classical character. However, the stylistic treatment of the piece is based on a rapid, veiled brushstroke, as can be seen in the background. The author of this work creates a sober and regal scene, but full of drama, in which he presents the figure of a musician against a neutral background, monumentalising his bust, which is fixed in the foreground by the artist. As for the interior, its ochre walls, closed and completely neutral, give an aspect of solitude which contrasts with the mischievous smile of the musician, who seems to be directing it at whoever is looking at him.
Carlos Baca Flor did his early studies, showing a talent for art that was encouraged by his parents. When he was at the Academy of Arts in Santiago, the students in higher years called him "the critic" because he found the flaws in their work. Always excelling, he won the gold medal in painting, sculpture and drawing every year. At the end of his studies he received the Premio Roma, a special award for winning the last three competitions in a row. On the podium on the day of the award ceremony, the rector of the Academy of Arts offered to naturalise him, as being Chilean was a requirement for the prize. Baca-Flor declined the offer, saying he could not betray his homeland, and left the ceremony immediately. He arrived in Paris in 1890 with the help of the Peruvian government. There he met the Spanish master Francisco Pradilla, who directed the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and became a close friend of the young Catalan painter Hermen Anglada Camarasa. In 1907 he won first place in the annual salon of French artists; sixty critics declared him the unanimous winner. His work was exhibited in the "Salon d'Honneur". The following year he met John Pierpont Morgan, the American banking magnate, who became one of his main patrons, and Baca-Flor's life ended with fame and professional success. He died in France in the summer of 1941. Collections of his works are preserved in the Museo de Arte de Lima and the Museo Central de Perú, as well as in the Museu de Terrassa, an old town near Barcelona.