Julio Maruri

JULIO MARURI (Santander, 1920-Cueto, Cantabria, 2018).
"Abstraction," c. 1958.
Gouache on paper.
Measurements: 22 x 31 cm; 36 x 46 cm (frame).
Julio Maruri was a Spanish poet, painter and art critic, linked to the post-war cultural renewal and the artistic abstraction currents of the 20th century. From a very young age he showed interest in drawing and literature, influenced by figures such as the poet José Luis Hidalgo and the painter Joaquín Solana. After participating in the Civil War and doing his military service in Madrid, he came into contact with the poetic circle of Vicente Aleixandre, along with authors such as José Hierro and Carlos Bousoño, and also became a member of the magazine Proel.
In 1945 he published his first book, Las aves y los niños, followed by Los años (1947), a work with which he was runner-up for the Adonais Prize. At the same time he developed an intense pictorial and critical activity, participating in the Altamira School and approaching European abstraction. In 1950 he entered the Order of the Discalced Carmelites under the name of Fray Casto del Niño Jesús, beginning a period of training and residence in France, Italy and Belgium, where he deepened both in theology and contemporary painting.
From the sixties onwards he lived between Belgium and France, dedicating himself to teaching art and consolidating a pictorial work linked to lyrical abstraction and European modernity. He exhibited in cities such as Madrid, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona, participating regularly in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in Paris. His poetry evolved towards a more critical, ironic and social tone, visible in books such as Como animal muy limpio.