(b Eibar, nr. Bilbao, 26 July 1870; d Madrid, 31 Oct. 1945). Spanish painter. He came from a long line of craftsmen (his father was a metalworker) and was mainly self-taught as an artist. Much of his career was spent in Paris, where he was friendly with Degas, Gauguin, and Rodin, but his art is strongly national in style and subject matter. Bullfighters, gypsies, and brigands were among his subjects, and he also painted religious scenes and society portraits (these were one of the main sources of the considerable fortune he earned). His inspiration came from the great Spanish masters of the past, notably Velázquez and Goya, and he is credited with being one of the first to ‘rediscover’ El Greco. He had a great reputation in his lifetime (unusually for a Spanish artist, his standing was higher abroad than at home), but his work now often looks rather stagy.