Jose' Beulas Biography
José Beulas Recasens was born in Santa Coloma de Farnés, Girona in 1921. He developed his passion for painting by depicting the surrounding landscape of Girona in his early years. As a young artist, he discovered the historic Olot Landscape School near Santa Coloma, formed by famous painters such as Mir, Vayreda, Urgell, Soler and Jorba. At that point he realized the importance of training and acquiring a technique. In the early 1940s he moved to the province of Huesca to serve in the High Mountain Corps. This move was crucial as the landscape of Huesca became one of his essential subjects. In addition to his military service, he pursued his interest in painting while working as a tailor. In 1946, after marrying María Sarrate, he made Huesca his permanent residence. In 1947 he went to Barcelona to take drawing lessons at the Baixas Academy. From that moment on Beulas' vocation consolidated considerably and his main interest was to continue improving his education. In 1948 he obtained a scholarship from the Provincial Council of Huesca, which allowed him to enter the School of Fine Arts of the San Fernando Academy in Madrid. His stay in San Fernando was marked by the teachings he received from a group of teachers, including Ramón Stolz and Vázquez Díaz, who influenced him. The legacy that José Beulas leaves to the city of Huesca contains an excellent example of the work he carried out during his years at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando. After leaving the Academy in 1951, he received a pension at the El Paular Monastery in Madrid. He later received another scholarship from the High School of Fine Arts of Segovia. However, Madrid remained his center of gravity, where he studied the classics often visiting the Prado Museum. Among the artists of the time in Spain, he admired Benjamín Palencia and Ortega Muñoz, whose influence is evident in his work. In 1954 he made his first trip to Paris, assisted by a scholarship for engraving. It then began its phase of consolidation and recognition. In 1955 he won the scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, which will be a decisive experience in his education as it was in Italy where he definitively chose landscape as the fundamental theme of his painting . There, he was in contact with numerous artists, including Echauz, Reyes Torrent, García Donaire, Cesar Montaña, García de Paredes and Javier de Carvajal. Beulas began his art collection by purchasing some pieces from his colleagues and friends. His stay in Italy also allowed him to exhibit in various Italian cities such as Rome, Bologna, Palermo or Agrigento, and he took part in the Venice Biennale between 1957 and 1959. In 1962 he received the First Prize at the Zaragoza Painting Biennial. Between 1966 and 1967 he exhibited for the first time in the United States at the Bernardi International Gallery in Washington DC and joined the roster of artists at the Kreisler Gallery in Madrid. In 1968 he obtained one of the highest awards to which Spanish artists of the time aspired: the First Medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid. Since 1969 he has worked in his studio in Huesca, designed by his friend the architect José María García de Paredes, following a project similar to the one the architect had designed for Santa Coloma de Farnés. In 1970 he exhibited at the Biosca Gallery in Madrid and joined them for several years. He also exhibited in his hometown and repeated at the Libros Gallery in Zaragoza and the Genaro Poza Gallery in Huesca. Since 1973, Beulas has limited his exhibitions to Spain, but participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in the 1980s at the Biosca Gallery in Madrid and the Ignasi de Lasaletta Gallery in Barcelona. In 1982 the city of Huesca named him their adopted son. This recognition continued in 1996 when he was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1988, the Provincial Council of Huesca organized a tribute exhibition to José Beulas with the participation of the Chillida family and artists from Huesca.
José Beulas died on August 3, 2017 in Huesca.
