Collection

Painter, draftsman, and illustrator. After his first contact with art in Arecibo and San Juan, and having studied engineering in the United States, in 1874 Cuchí y Arnau went to Spain to study art at the Escuela Especial de Pintura in Madrid. There he also studied under painters Casto Placencia and Emilio Sala and watercolorists Alejandro Ferrant and Martín Rico. Cuchí y Arnau had a significant career as an illustrator of newspapers and books, among them Madrid Cómico and the works of Víctor Hugo and Chateaubriand. In his paintings, which he signed “Cuchy,” he worked in portraiture, the representation of popular characters, and still lifes. He returned to the island at the turn of the century.