Victoriano Chicote Recio

Son of the Madrid-based woodcarver Vicente Chicote, he moved to Valladolid at the age of eighteen with his wife, where he established a sculpture workshop. Chicote himself was born in that city in 1874.

His earliest mention as a professional appears in the independent Salamanca newspaper “El Lábaro”, which reported his appointment as assistant trainee in the technical section of the School of Arts and Industries of Valladolid. Shortly afterward, he was promoted to substitute professor of Drawing.

In 1904, he applied for the position of full professor of Artistic Drawing at the School of Industrial Arts in Córdoba. Upon failing to obtain the post, he returned to Valladolid, where he entered a painting competition promoted by the Academy of Fine Arts of Valladolid and won first prize for the ceiling decoration of the Mayor’s Salon. In 1905, he again entered a competitive examination, this time for the position of full professor of Modeling and Casting at the Elementary School of Arts and Industries in Almería, but was once again unsuccessful.

Finally, in 1908, he passed the examination in Cádiz for a post as professor of Metalwork at the School of Arts and Industries and Fine Arts, being appointed full special professor. Five years later, he was transferred to Córdoba “by virtue of a competitive examination” as professor at the School of Arts and Crafts, where he held the chair in Modeling and Casting. Since 1909, he had also served as the school’s secretary.

He joined the Friendship Circle in Córdoba in 1914, as well as the Provincial Board of Tourism. The following year, he became a member of the Sociedad Cordobesa de Arqueología y Excursiones, which joined with the Circle to launch an annual Fine Arts and Photography competition. Chicote participated in the event with a collection of Arab art and a series of tapestries. In 1924, he became the society’s director, serving as its censor. He exhibited at that year’s edition as well as the 1925 competition, submitting a canvas depicting the interior of the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. He also served as a juror for the competition in 1928, in which several of his works were again presented.

In 1927, he was appointed full member of the Fine Arts Section of the Royal Academy of Córdoba, presenting his work “Interior de la Mezquita de Córdoba en tiempos del Califato”. Martínez de Arziala remarked: “If a pictorial work must possess subject matter and fitting composition, perspective, and color to legitimately fit within the artistic concept, the work gifted to the Cordoban Academy by Señor Chicote fulfills this in full and ample measure.” In 1931, he presided over the opening of the new academic year at the Ateneo of Córdoba.

In 1936, shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he served as a city councillor, and within a few days was promoted to deputy mayor, a position from which he resigned after just twenty days.

In parallel with his artistic activities, he also worked as a restorer. In 1915, he was chosen to restore the carvings in the Hermitage of the Santísimo Cristo de las Ánimas in Córdoba, following a fire. He also contributed to the restoration of ceramic works at Medina Azahara and of architectural and decorative elements in the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba.

He traveled frequently to Morocco, a country that deeply inspired him and provided themes he would later depict in his paintings submitted to exhibitions.

His painting “Mosaico romano” (P008189) is held in the Museo del Prado.

He died in Córdoba on June 9, 1961.