JOSÉ PINEDA GUERRA (Alicante, 1837 - Barcelona, 1907). "Corbeta Magdalena". Watercolour on paper. Signed in the lower left corner. Frame with dirt. Moisture stains. Some faults in the painting. Size: 34 x 50 cm; 44 x 59 cm (frame). José Pineda was a shipwright and watercolourist, specialised in the painting of ships, son of a sailor from Alicante. He sailed from an early age, and in fact his wife also came from a family connected with shipping, as she was the daughter of a family of shipowners. Around 1871 he settled in Barcelona, where he specialised in painting, as portraits, the most famous vessels of the time, both sailing ships and steamships. Most of his paintings, which are of great documentary importance, are of Catalan sailing ships, although he also painted some foreign-flagged vessels. They were generally intended for the decoration of the offices of Barcelona shipping companies. Little is known of his exhibitions, although there is documentation of an exhibition of his work in the San Sebastián building in Barcelona in 1877. He painted almost always in watercolour, developing a language of precise drawing and descriptive brushstrokes, with boats minutely portrayed in all their details, especially the rigging, set on a deep blue sea (the quality of his blues is outstanding), with long waves, adorned with seagulls flying at water level. His style was continued by the Marseille painter Pellegrin. Pineda also practised naval modelling, a discipline in which he was awarded a diploma and bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona in 1888 for his frigate "Hijas de Pineda", which had taken him eighteen years to build. Pineda is currently represented in the Maritime Museum and Nautical School of Barcelona, the Planas Collection in the Balearic Islands and in various private collections.