Calle de José Bardasano Baos

The boy who painted from life at the Cuatro Caminos roundabout gave his name to this street in the Castilla district. He was eleven when the painter Marceliano Santa María found him with his brushes near his home, on the calle de los Artistas. From there he went to the School of Arts and Crafts, where he swept up the prizes. José Bardasano Baos (Madrid, 1910-1979) began by illustrating workers' newspapers and soon made his living in advertising, where he honed the command of colour that would mark his work. The Civil War turned him into one of the great Republican poster artists: from his workshop, La Gallofa, came images of soldiers, workers and peasants that now hang in the Reina Sofía. With the war lost, he passed through the Argelès-sur-Mer camp and sailed on the Sinaia bound for Mexico, where he went on painting and teaching. He returned to Spain in 1960. His final period is marked by travel posters for RENFE, one of which won him an international prize in Geneva in 1967.