Federico Beltran Masses Biography
Federico Beltran Masses WAS BORN IN Cuba IN 1885.
He studied under Sorolla at the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona and in Madrid, where he achieved national recognition after King Alfonso XIII purchased one of his works during his first exhibition. In 1916 Beltran, like Picasso and Gris, moved to Paris, where he would live for the next thirty years. Success at the 1920 Venice Biennale gave Beltran Masses an international reputation, and during the 1920s and 1930s he exhibited in Buenos Aires, Nice, Paris, London, New York, Palm Beach, and Los Angeles.
Among the collectors of Beltran's works are Charlie Chaplin, William Randolph Hearst.
Beltran often painted his subjects in exotic settings, creating portraits that seemed both authentic and romantically invented, often taking 1920s cinema as a model. He has portrayed many famous people, including the Pope, the Royal Family of Spain and the protagonists of the Ballets Russes. The scenes are often nocturnal, whether they were of hazy Venetian canals or open skies. His palette became known as 'Beltran blue'.
The artist's works often featured erotic elements, such as Beltran's painting of “Salome” which was withdrawn from exhibition in London in 1929, deemed too risqué.
The works of Federico Beltran Masses are today present in important international museums, including the Center Pompidou, the Jeu de Paume and the Petit Palais in Paris, and the Centro Reina Sofia in Madrid.
