VALENTIN ZUBIAURRE AGUIRREZÃBAL (Madrid, 1879 - 1963) .
"Portrait in front of a Basque landscape".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Size: 31 x 36 cm; 48 x 53 cm (frame).
An old woman holds on her lap a big pitcher, opening behind her a mountainous landscape. This is a frequent type of composition in Valentín Zubiaurre's painting, which allowed him to ennoble both the inhabitants of rural areas and the Basque landscape. The intense chromatic contrast, with its twilight shifts, and the expressiveness of the old woman's weathered face are characteristic of this artist, who (together with his brother Ramón) was a renovator of Spanish regionalism.
The son of the musical composer of the same name, Valentín Zubiaurre was born deaf and dumb, like his younger brother Ramón, also a painter. He began his training with the painter Daniel Perea, who was also deaf and mute, before entering the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1894. There he was a pupil of Carlos de Haes, Muñoz Degrain, Ferrant and Moreno Carbonero, and at the same time completed his solid training by visiting the Prado Museum. In 1898 the two Zubiaurre brothers set out on a study trip that took them to France, Italy and the Netherlands. On their return to Spain they obtained a grant from the Diputación de Vizcaya in 1902, which enabled them to settle in Paris. There they attended classes at the Académie Julian, became acquainted with the modern trends then developing in the French capital and became interested in Impressionism. However, the Zubiaurre brothers were not receptive to its influence, owing mainly to the weight of their academic training and their admiration both for the Flemish and Italian primitives and for contemporary Spanish painters such as Darío de Regoyos and, especially, Ignacio Zuloaga. Valentín de Zubiaurre regularly sent his works to the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts and was awarded several prizes; in 1908 he won the second medal and in 1917 the first. He was also distinguished with prizes from foreign institutions, and won prizes in important international competitions held in the first decade of the 20th century, including those of Munich, Buenos Aires, Brussels, San Francisco, San Diego and the University of Panama. From the 1920s until the Civil War, the Zubiaurre brothers experienced their most successful and renowned period, both in Spain and internationally. After the war Valentín de Zubiaurre resumed his career in Spain, and his recognition became official with his appointment as a full member of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1945, culminating in the medal of honour awarded to him at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1957, six years before his death. He is currently represented in the Fine Arts Museums of Chicago, Buenos Aires, Paris, Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin, Tokyo, Pittsburg and San Diego, as well as in the main art galleries of the Basque Country, the Castagnino Museum in Argentina, the Reina Sofía National Art Centre, the BBVA collection and the Museum of Modern Art in Rome, among others, both public and private.