Joaquín Xaudaró

No other cartoonist has been as popular at his time as Joaquín Xaudaró (City of Vigan, Philippines, 1872 – Madrid, 1933). His humour, generally based on word games and his ability to capture the face and gestures of «the good people», made him a magnificent chronist of the early years of 20^th Century. Thus we show in these 150 drawings that summarize his career.

The exhibition starts by showing his works for Blanco y Negro magazine but also for the successive publications such as the ABC newspaper, the satirical weekly publication entitled Gedeón and the magazine for children Gente Menuda.

However, ten years later he decided to leave everything behind and try a new life in Paris. He wasn’t as popular there as in Spain but he continued his work with Prensa Española.

In 1921, a new generation of avant-garde cartoonists is emerging, so he decides to come back to Spain. Thanks to his weekly cartoons in the ABC newspaper (from this year to his last days) he gets to be one of the most popular artists of his time.

He has his own personal style and has also improved his ability to capture in a few lines all social classes which are treated with tenderness without any sign of contempt. He also presents a puppy in his strips that soon becomes a popular icon of his works. Joaquín Xaudaró was overwhelmed by the fame of his dog, who became an important source of income, due to its merchandising (as a jewel, a toy…) and his publicity campaigns.