With its genre vernacular and intensity in portraiture, Zubiaurre’s painting was remarkable for his display of a descriptive image, the steady execution of the contours and a lively palette which, although leaving no one indifferent, took some time to achieve its well-deserved recognition.

Particularly of note in his training is the influence of painters such as Carlos de Haes (1826-1898) -also with works in the BBVA Collection- or Muñoz Degrain (1840-1924), who contributed to his development as an artist, as well as of his travels throughout Italy, France and the Netherlands. In spite of being born in Madrid, his Basque origin was instrumental in the configuration of his art and his style, centring his work on the representation of popular traditional Basque subject matters.

Zubiaurre’s portraits are intimate in style, more spiritual than physical, and eluding any simply anecdotal detail which would hamper an appreciation of the psychology and personality of the sitter. That is the case of this work, showing a highly representative character from Basque society. The painter pays special attention to the expression of the face and attitude of the model, with a masterly rendition of the hand holding the pipe. The refined technique used to paint the old man’s features—the wrinkles help to highlight contrasting lights and shadows and convey greater volume—allows the beholder to get a deeper insight into the personality of the sitter.