Mayoral y caballo

José de la Peña (1887-1961) is a Spanish painter from a noble family of Valencia. He was born in Madrid in 1887 and was Spanish ambassador in Venezuela.

He is mainly known for his representations of bullfighting. Camille Mauclair described José de la Peña as a modest man who was in admiration of Franscico de Goya and who left an important pictorial testimony about bullfighting. 

Camille Mauclair even described his art on bullfighting in 1928 : "these paintings where everything is life and movement, where a broad and firm execution, in a fat and supple paste, models by vigorous shots, in full light, the forms of man and animal, removing all the superfluous, showing only what can be seen from a distance, struggling with speed and intense touch safety with which, more often than not, appears only a furious tangle of shadows and violent colors, and yet has, in this great isolation of the arena, the powerful density of the sculpture."

In 1910, the artist went to Paris where he became friends with artists such as Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Maurice Utrillo or Zuloaga. He is considered one of the most talented Spanish painters of his generation. 

In 1920, José de la Peña moved to the Villa Fortuna in Anglet. Upon his death in 1961, he bequeathed his entire studio collection to the city of Anglet.

The artist is presented in the most important Spanish museums for his works on the themes of bullfighting and the horse.