Ramiro ARRUE (1892-1971) - Lot 341

Ramiro ARRUE (1892-1971) Family of Basque sailor and his cat LARGE GOUACHE signed lower right. 49 x 39 cm Provenance: Private collection, Anglet. Gouache is probably the technique in which Ramiro Arrue excels most. His talent for laying down color is unmatched by any other artist. This large gouache is a complete composition, depicting all the activities of a Basque sailor's family. In his typical blue uniform, the sailor, whose bold red socks make him the central figure, watches a young girl playing with her cat, while on the right, the Amatxi grooms the net the sailor has handled so many times. All the family's accessories surround the scene: on the left, the large blue oars leaning on the sardine basket echo the sailor, above, the laundry dries on the balcony, and on the right, the net completes the reminder of this fishing activity so important to the Basque Country. The cat is certainly the most original element in this composition. Representations of cats are rather rare in Arrue's work, even if a few enamels include this subject. This seated feline, observing in the foreground, is a kind of projection of the viewer, linking him to the scene, but whose particular dialogue with the young girl allows the observer to enter even more deeply into the composition. The finesse of the drawing, the density of the colors and the modernity of the girl's dress date this gouache to the 1920-1925 period. Its size and finesse make this one of Ramiro Arrue's finest gouaches.