VALENTÍN DE ZUBIAURRE AGUIRREZÁBAL (Madrid, 1879 - 1963)."Basque characters".Oil on canvas.Signed in the lower right corner.Size: 70 x 60 cm; 90 x 80 cm (frame).We see in this painting a magnificent double portrait that shows the mastery and modernity of its author, a Valentín de Zubiaurre who knew how to represent the people of his time, especially Basques and Castilians. Here he shows us a young couple, two villagers with smooth complexions and expectant eyes who watch in amazement at what is happening before them. The male figure, wearing a txapela, rests his hands on a stick while she offers him a bowl of pears and other fruit. This is a type of folkloristic representation in which Valentín de Zubiaurre was particularly outstanding, extolling popular types and Basque corners that were about to disappear. His art fits into the framework of the rise of regionalism in fin-de-siècle Spain and the beginning of the 21st century. Realistic and meticulous, Zubiaurre developed his own style within this trend, which can be seen in the attenuated palette, the pre-eminence of the line and the expressiveness of the physiognomic features.The son of the musical composer of the same name, Valentín Zubiaurre was born deaf and dumb, as was his younger brother Ramón, also a painter. Of Basque origin although he settled in Madrid with his family, the young painter 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 disciple of Carlos de Haes, Muñoz Degrain, Ferrant and Moreno Carbonero, and at the same time 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 set out on a study trip that took them to France, Italy and the Netherlands. On their return to Spain, they were awarded a grant by 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 period of greatest success and recognition, both in Spain and internationally. By then, both were clearly differentiated stylistically: Ramón was more colourist and Valentín more classicist, although without falling into academic rigidities. After the war, the elder 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 San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1945, culminating in the medal of honour awarded to him at the 1957 National Exhibition of Fine Arts, six years before his death. Valentín de Zubiaurre cultivated genre painting, focusing mainly on Basque and Castilian themes, and also dealt with landscapes. His masterly, intellectual painting is dominated by a certain melancholy that distinguishes 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 Centre, the BBVA collection and the Museum of Modern Art in Rome, among others, both public and private.
