José Arrue

Who was José Arrue?

José Arrue y Valle, usually known as José Arrue was a Basque Spanish painter.

Arrue came from an artistic family: his father, Lucas Arrue, was an art collector, and his three brothers, Alberto, Ramiro, and Ricardo, were also painters. After early studies in Bilbao, he subsequently continued his training in Barcelona, Paris and Milan. In 1908 he returned to his birthplace, and taught figure drawing at the School of Arts and Crafts. He was one of the founders of the weekly El Coitao, and the Association of Basque Artists.

Arrue's love of bullfighting led to his debut in the bullring on October 17, 1909, in Bilbao. According to several authorities, Arrue proved to be a capable matador.

Arrue's painting won several awards during his lifetime. He also designed bullfighting posters, did advertising work, and published cartoons in newspapers such as El Sol and El Liberal, and the Buenos Aires newspaper La Razón; an exhibition of his paintings was staged in Buenos Aires in 1928, later travelling to Montevideo, Uruguay.

During the Spanish Civil War, Arrue drew comics describing events from the perspective of the Basque Government.