JOSÉ MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ DE LOSADA (Seville, 1826 - Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, 1896). "Saint Francis of Assisi". Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas, period frame, faults and repainting. Measurements: 101 x 80,5 cm. José María Rodríguez de Losada began his apprenticeship in Seville, but he developed all his pictorial activity in Jerez de la Frontera. He cultivated history painting and portraiture, although in his beginnings he devoted himself to genre painting, as his work "Pareja de majos", from 1843, proves. According to Valdivieso, "Rodríguez de Losada`s artistic style shows a loose, scrubbed, sometimes careless and summary brushstroke. This technique, healthy in principle because of its modernity, was rejected at the time by critics, especially for being accompanied by violent colouring with a predominance of brownish tones which, in effect, produce little visual gratitude". In fact, the artist`s work is markedly influenced by Romanticism, which is reflected in his painting in an intense thematic and formal dramatism that is very different from the cheerful, gentle feeling of the paintings of many of his contemporaries. Among his most important historical works are "Columbus`s Landing in America" (University of Barcelona), "The Battle of Alcolea" (Academy of History) and "Doña Juana la Loca with her Husband`s Corpse" (Museum of Cadiz). Rodríguez de Losada also drew inspiration from literature and art for some of his works, such as "The Brave Mayor of Zahara", "Quevedo Reading an Epigram against the Count Duke of Olivares" and "Valdés Leal Inspired to Paint the Last Days". Of neo-Romantic inspiration were paintings such as "A Widow Finding her Husband`s Corpse on the Battlefield" (1858), and as a portraitist, the portrait of Alfonso XII (Diputación de Cádiz) is particularly noteworthy. He also painted religious themes and some still lifes, such as "Dead Duck" (1884). A member of the Order of Santiago and a corresponding academician of San Fernando, Rodríguez de Losada took part in the National Fine Arts Exhibitions for several years, receiving honourable mentions in the 1858 and 1867 editions. He was also awarded the silver medal of Charles III at the Seville Exhibition of 1843, a gold medal at the exhibitions organised by the Academy of Saint Isabel of Hungary in Seville in 1854 and 1856 and a gold medal at the exhibition organised by the Friends of the Country in 1858. His work can now be seen in the Museo del Prado and the Museo Provincial de Cádiz, as well as in other public and private art collections.