Ulpiano CHECA Y SANZ (1860-1916) - Indian chief on horseback

"Indian chief on horseback
Bronze proof with reddish-brown shaded patina.
Sand cast by Colin
Circa 1895
Ulpiano CHECA Y SANZ (1860-1916)
Spanish school - Painter, engraver, sculptor.
Born in Colmenar de Oreja (Madrid, Spain) Died in Dax (Landes)
He began his training in 1873 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando, where he studied under Federico de Madrazo and Pablo Y Gonzalvo. He seems to have been particularly influenced by the latter master, who taught him perspective.
At the age of 19, he became a teacher at the same academy.
In 1884, he obtained a place as a boarder at the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
He quickly became a specialist in paintings of horses, orientalist subjects and North American Indians.
He is often considered a precursor of Impressionism.

In 1889, he moved to Paris and produced drawings for the magazine L'Illustration, for which he was a correspondent. He also painted a large view of the Place de la République. The following year, he married Mademoiselle Mathilde Chayé, whose whose parents owned a villa in Bagnères de Bigorre, where the couple came every year to spend a few months.

He very quickly specialised in representations of horses, with orientalist, antique or North American subjects.
In 1894, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français.
In 1895, he settled in Bagnères de Bigorre.
He made numerous trips to Argentina, Venice and Algeria.

In 1900, he was commissioned to paint 4 large pictures for the passageway leading to the restaurant "Le Train Bleu" in Paris (Gare de Lyon).
His health suddenly failed and he died in Dax in January 1916 at the age of 56.
Maison Colin was a prestigious art foundry established at 29 rue Sévigné in Paris in 1843. It took part in many World Fairs, including the one in Chicago in 1893, where it presented a bronze clock mounted on a marble column in collaboration with Piat and Steiner. It was also successful at the 1900 Universal Exhibition, where it was awarded a grand prize. The company worked with many renowned artists, including Carrier Belleuse, Marioton and Rozet.