Valentín de Zubiaurre

VALENTÍN DE ZUBIAURRE AGUIRRÉZABAL (Madrid, 1879 - 1963).
"Rural scene".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 30 x 36 cm; 46 x 52 cm (frame).
Son of the musical composer of the same name, Valentín Zubiaurre was born deaf and dumb, like his younger brother Ramón, also a painter. Of Basque origin but settled in Madrid with his family, the young painter began his training with the painter Daniel Perea, also deaf and mute, before entering the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1894. There he was a disciple of Carlos de Haes, Muñoz Degrain, Ferrant and Moreno Carbonero, and at the same time he completed his solid training by visiting the Prado Museum, where he made copies of the great masters. After their time in San Fernando, in 1898 the two Zubiaurre brothers embarked on a study trip that took them to France, Italy and the Netherlands. On their return to Spain they obtained a scholarship from the Diputación de Vizcaya, in 1902, which allowed them to settle in Paris. There they attended classes at the Académie Julian, became acquainted with the modern trends that were then developing in the French capital and became interested in Impressionism. However, the Zubiaurre brothers were not permeable to its influence, mainly due to the weight of their academic training and their admiration for the Flemish and Italian primitives as well as for contemporary Spanish painters such as Dario de Regoyos and, especially, Ignacio Zuloaga. Valentín de Zubiaurre regularly sent his works to the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts, being awarded on several occasions; in 1908 he obtained the second medal, and in 1917 he was awarded the first medal. He was also distinguished with awards from foreign institutions, and won prizes in outstanding international competitions held in the first decade of the 20th century, among them those of Munich, Buenos Aires, Brussels, San Francisco, San Diego and the University of Panama. From the twenties until the Civil War, the Zubiaurre brothers would experience their period of greatest success and recognition, both in Spain and internationally. By then, both were clearly differentiated stylistically: Ramón was more colorist and Valentín more classicist, although without falling into academic rigidities. After the war, the older brother remained in Madrid, while Ramón moved to America, where he remained until 1951. Valentín resumed his career in Spain, and his recognition became official with his appointment as a full member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1945, culminating with the medal of honor awarded to him at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1957, six years before his death. Valentín de Zubiaurre cultivated a genre painting, mainly centered on Basque and Castilian themes, and also dealt with the subject of landscape. His painting, intellectual and masterly made, is dominated by a certain melancholy that differentiates his language from that of his brother Ramón. 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 Center, the BBVA collection and the Museum of Modern Art in Rome, among others, both public and private.