José Tapiró y Baró (Spanish painter) 1836 - 1913
The Presentation, s.d.
watercolour and gouache on paper
49.5 x 70 cm. (19.5 x 27.5 in.)
signed and inscribed J Tapiró / Tanger lower right
private collection
Catalogue Note
Tapiro developed a preference for Orientalist subjects early on in his career, and his most accomplished works in this genre were executed in watercolour, a medium at which he excelled, as evident in the present work.
Depicting a group of young boys playing city guards on the ramparts of the city fortifications built around the Medina of Tangiers by Pasha Er Riffi, The Presentation displays Tapiro's love of detailed, ethnographic renderings, as well as his technical accomplishment in his chosen medium.
Tapiro's work has often be compared to that of his contemporary and close friend, Mariano Fortuny. Fortuny and Tapiro studied together at the schools of fine art of Reus and Barcelona, and Tapiro even received a bravery medal for having saved Fortuny from drowning. In 1857 the two friends embarked on a study trip that took them from Spain to Rome, then Morrocco (1860), back to Rome (1863), on to Grenada (1871) and back to Morrocco (1872). In 1876, following Fortuny's death, Tapiro settled permanently in Tangiers.
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