In the series of exhibitions devoted to studying the work of Ignacio Pinazo (Valencia 1849–Godella 1916) from various perspectives, this show about his watercolours is especially new and interesting because it is the first in-depth study of a technical facet of his work that has scarcely been considered in publications on this artist. Spain does not have a solid watercolour tradition: it was not used to produce what was commonly known as “serious” painting, which was basically oil painting, whereas watercolour was generally reserved for preliminary versions of definitive works. Nevertheless, watercolour painting has been increasingly esteemed and admired in Valencia since the end of the nineteenth century, both by artists and by connoisseurs and art lovers who appreciate the difficulties it entails. Pinazo shows his great mastery of the use of watercolour on paper, as we can see immediately in the present show, which includes works that illustrate the beginnings of his use of wash or drawing with a single colour. This allows us to follow his evolution in the practice of watercolour, from his early incursions in which there are lingering traces of Baroque models of wash prototypes to the sheer purity of his later watercolours. All this is given physical expression in a selection of paintings, in most cases now exhibited for the first time, treating religious matters, academies and nudes, the “frock coat” genre, studies connected with the history of painting, Italian views and types, musketeers, regional types and scenes of the rural world, African themes, studies of flowers, animals and insects, etc.

Like other great artists, Pinazo treated the same subjects in his watercolours and ink wash drawings as in his oil paintings. He also alternated between oil painting and water-based systems. He often chose watercolour for works of recreation or relief from commissioned works, and he also used it for sketches, jottings and preparatory studies for his canvases. Watercolour always worked well in succinct, small-format pictures, and it was certainly one of the artistic devices that he employed from the beginning of his career.

Ignacio Pinazo must therefore be considered one of the most brilliant representatives of local watercolour, and not just an example of a painter capable of mastering the techniques of watercolour painting on paper. He and other Valencian artists, together with internationally renowned figures such as Mariano Fortuny, ennobled Spanish watercolour with their constant efforts, raising it to the same category as other techniques. This took watercolour painting to new heights in Spain, producing a proliferation of new associations and academies and a considerable increase in enthusiastic practitioners of the art.