Ulpiano Checa
1860–1916 · Spanish history and Orientalist painter active in Paris
Ulpiano Checa (Colmenar de Oreja, 1860 - Dax, 1916) was a Spanish painter of historical and Orientalist subjects. Trained in Madrid and based in Paris, where he gained international fame in the late nineteenth century, he moved to the capital at thirteen with the support of José Ballester, who paid for his studies at the Escuela de Bellas Artes y Oficios and the Real Academia de San Fernando.
After a scholarship in Rome, he settled in Paris in 1889. There he made his name with Carrera de carros romanos, awarded at the Salons of the Champs-Élysées, and he received the Legion of Honour in 1894. His output also included posters, book illustrations and portraits. In 1902 he travelled through Argentina and Uruguay, where he exhibited and painted influential figures. He kept ties with his home town, where he painted murals in the parish church of Santa María la Mayor.
His work is marked by a somewhat stereotyped handling of colour, light and drawing. His legacy is mainly associated with the history and Orientalist painting of the Belle Époque and with his work as a poster designer.
Works (2)
The record attributes this work to Ulpiano Checa and describes it as an oil on canvas of large format, measuring 160 by 240.4 centimetres. Without reference texts, the subject, date of execution and commission cannot be specified. Its size suggests a composition designed for a spacious setting, though this remains a tentative assumption.
