José Arrúe Valle

(Bilbao, 1885 - Llodio, Álava, 1977)

Author's artworks

19th-20th century. Spanish

Born in Bilbao on 1 September 1885, José Arrúe is the second of the brothers in the artistic dynasty of the Arrúe family (Alberto, José, Ricardo and Ramiro). After the death of his mother while he was still a young boy, his aunt Matilde took charge of his education and supported him in his artistic vocation.

His earlier training started at the studio of the painter Antonio Lecuona (1831-1907), who taught the young José the foundations of academic art. He then continued his education at the School of Arts and Crafts of Bilbao, where he was a pupil of Anselmo Guinea (1855-1906), from whom he gleaned his first notions of modern art.

In the opening decade of the twentieth century he had the opportunity to travel throughout Spain, France and Italy to further his education. From 1900 to 1902 he lived in Barcelona, where, at the young age of fifteen, he attended lessons at the Círculo Artístico, and also the studio of Ramón Casas (1866-1932). In these circles he met all the major Catalan painters of the time, including Miguel Utrillo (1862-1934), Santiago Rusiñol (1861-1931) and Isidre Nonell (1872-1911).

In 1905 he settled in Paris with his brother Alberto. There, the two brothers attended the prestigious
. One year later, in the company of his brothers and his aunt Matilde, he embarked on a long journey throughout Italy, where he was able to study the works of the old masters first hand.

In 1908, back in Bilbao, José Arrúe founded the magazine "El Coitao". At that time, he achieved considerable success with his humorous Basque scenes, which led to abundant sales and commissions. He was appointed teacher of figure drawing at the School of Arts and Crafts and in 1911 he was a founding member of the
.

In 1913 he returned to Paris. There he focused above all on the depiction of Parisian types and scenes. The outbreak of the First World War forced him to return to his native land, settling in Orozko. In that period, he created a large number of Basque scenes.

Arrúe moved to Bilbao in 1920, the beginning of a highly productive period in which he contributed to newspapers and magazines, and showed his work in many exhibitions which further increased his reputation. In 1928, he travelled to Argentina where he took part in several highly successful exhibitions.

The Spanish Civil War brought his art production to an abrupt halt. His anti-fascist activity took its toll on him: he was incarcerated for two years, his home in Bilbao was seized and his belongings looted. When he was eventually released he had to start from scratch and retired entirely from all artistic activity. In 1963, after settling in the town of Llodio, he regained the necessary tranquillity to return to painting, after which he never abandoned it until his death on 5 April 1977 at the age of 91.