Maria Blanchard

Artist

Maria Blanchard

Birth

march 6, 1881

Birthplace

Santander

Death

April 15, 1932

Place of Death

Paris

Gender

Female

Nationality

Span

Movement

Cubism

Media

Painter

(b santander, 6 march 1881; d Paris, 15 April 1932). spanish painter. she was marked from birth by a physical deformity, which determined her bitter destiny. in 1903 she moved to madrid to become a painter, studying successively under the painters emilio sala (1850–1910), fernando alvarez de sotomayor (1875–1960) and manuel benedito (1875–1963). she won a grant in 1909 to pursue her studies in paris, where she attended the académie vitti; she was taught by hermengildo anglada camarasa and later by kees van dongen, whose example helped free her from the constraints of her academic training in spain. during this period she came into contact with cubism, meeting juan gris and jacques lipchitz, both of whom influenced her later work. until 1916, however, her work remained academic in spirit, with an emphasis on firm draughtsmanship and sombre tonalities.