Arturo Souto was a Spanish painter, lithographer and illustrator of the 20th century.
Beginning from the paintings in the style of modernism, the artist then adopted alternately the principles of post-impressionism, metaphysical art, Japanese art and finally neutral in a color style influenced by indigenous muralism.
He was also known as an author, literary critic and translator.
Background
Arturo Souto was born on July 4, 1902, in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain. He was a son of Alfredo Souto Cuero, a magistrate and painter, and Pilar Feijoo Freire.
From the early childhood, Souto wished to be a painter like his father but the latter wanted his son to exercise the profession of a rigger.
Souto traveled a lot with his father around Spain. The trips somehow influenced the early style of the artist.
Education
Arturo Souto received the first lessons of painting from his father who was a painter in addition to his profession of a magistrate.
In 1916, he entered the Industrial School of Arts and Crafts (Escuela Industrial y de Artes y Oficios) in Seville. He spent four years at the institution and studied rigging in addition.
To pursue his training, Souto moved to Madrid two years after he graduated from the Industrial School. While there, he became a student of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Escuelas Superiores de Bellas Artes).
Later, in 1934, the artist received a scholarship which allowed him to do his studies at the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts (Academy de Bellas Artes de España) in Rome. He left Rome four years later.
Arturo Souto started his career in 1924 from military service in Vigo, Spain. The debut solo exhibition of the artist was organized a year later at Casa de Galicia in Madrid. The same time, the artist got acquainted with the Society of Iberian Artists which was against the official art of Spain. Souto took part at some exhibitions of the group, including the show at Velázquez Palace.
The artist supported himself for a while decorating porcelain, and in 1926 he came to Paris for the first time. He returned to the capital of France in a couple of years. While there, the young man explored the new artistic movements of the time and developed an interest in the art of Giorgio de Chirico.
On his return to Spain, Souto participated at several exhibitions and accepted the proposition to create six murals for the rooms of the Círculo de las Artes de Lugo (Art Circle of Lugo). He also illustrated some novels and magazines, such as Blanco y Negro (Black and White). In 1931, the artist supported the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic singing up the Manifesto. Due to the collaboration with the Society of Iberian Artists, he had an opportunity to demonstrate his art not only in Spain but in Copenhagen and Berlin as well.
Five years later, Arturo Souto supported the military rebellion in Madrid which later led to the Spanish Civil War. The artist joined the Alliance of Antifascist Intellectuals for the Defense of Culture and took an active part in the Republican propaganda illustrating its periodicals. In 1937, he attended the 2nd International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture in Valencia and presented his canvases at the International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life in Paris.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Arturo Souto had to leave Spain. Through Bordeaux, he came to Havana where he exhibited for a while. Then, the painter traveled around the United States visiting New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
By the summer of 1942, he settled down in Mexico. While there, Souto continued his painting activity and adopted a more neutral color palette under the influence of indigenous muralism. He also collaborated with local periodicals as an illustrator and produced pictures for such works as a poetry collection ‘Pranto matricial’ by Valentín Paz Andrade and ‘Teatro del Buscón’ by a writer Eduardo Dieste Gonçalves.
In twenty years, Souto came back again to Spain and tried to establish himself as a painter. He had several exhibitions in Vigo, Madrid, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela. The shows had no great success, and the artist returned to Mexico where he lived till the end of his life.
Arturo Souto married Carmen Alabarce Casanova in 1923. The family produced two children, a daughter named Alicia and a son Arturo who became a writer, literary critic and translator.