''Jusep Torres Campalans'' is the "biography" of a fictitious Catalan painter written by Spanish novelist

Max Aub Max Aub Mohrenwitz (June 2, 1903, Paris – July 22, 1972 Mexico City) was a Mexican-Spanish experimentalist novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic. In 1965 he founded the literary periodical ''Los Sesenta'' (the Sixties), with edi ...

and published in 1958. According to the book, during his stay in Paris Campalans became one of the co-founders of the Cubist movement. After the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he is said to have moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where he spent the rest of his life as a

recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin , which means 'to open' or 'disclose'. Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permissio ...

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

. The book even included a catalogue of his works (written by "H. R. Town") for a planned exhibition at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

in 1942 (which, of course, never materialized), with illustrations and photos. Parallels with Aub's life have been noted. The book is still often listed as a real biography.

References

1958 novels 20th-century Spanish novels Novels about artists Fictional Spanish people {{1950s-bio-novel-stub