Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala

Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala (2 July 1841, Bilbao - 12 January 1871, Madrid) was a Spanish Academic painter of Basque ancestry who specialized in small-scale canvases.

His father was the founder and director of the Santiago de Vizcaya School of Humanities. His relatives included numerous historians, poets and musicians; notably his nephew, the writer Eduardo Zamacois. The family originated in Hasparren, France, where their name was spelled "Samacoys".

He received a thorough education, which included drawing classes with a local artist named Joaquín Balaca (c.1820-?). Later, when his father's school closed, the family moved to Madrid and, in 1856, he was enrolled at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, where he studied with Federico de Madrazo.

In 1860, on Madrazo's recommendation, he went to Paris and attended the classes of Charles Gleyre in preparation for applying to the Ècole des Beaux-Arts. His application there was denied, so he turned to the workshops of Ernest Meissonier, where he found a position.

Success came quickly. In 1861, he was commissioned to create decorative paintings in the quarters of the future king, Alfonso XII at the Palacio Real de Madrid. This work won him a grant from the Diputación de Vizacaya, which enabled him to continue his studies. In 1862 and 1864, he was awarded medals at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts.

He was married in Paris in 1865, to Louise Marie Héloise Perrin, whom he had met at the home of his friend, Jehan Georges Vibert. They had two children: a daughter, Maria, (who married the painter, Jean Alfred Marioton), and a son, Miguel, who became a well-known journalist and playwright.

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