Joaquín Bilbao was born on August 27, 1864, in
Sevilla.[2] He was the brother of the painter
Gonzalo Bilbao.[3]
Bilbao began his studies at the Colegio San Alberto Magno. He studied
Baccalaureate at the Provincial Institute.[2] During his high school education, he enrolled with his brother Gonzalo in drawing and watercolor classes under Professor Pedro Vega.[2] In 1881, upon finishing the Baccalaureate, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law of the old Literary
University of Seville. He finished his law studies in 1887. In 1890, he started working at the law firm of Manuel de Bedmar y Escudero. At the age of 29 he left the legal profession to devote himself to sculpture.[2]
Career
In 1900 Bilbao moved to Paris, where he attended his Académie des Beaux-Arts for four years. During that time, he also made trips to
Belgium,
Netherlands,
Germany, and
England. During his stay abroad, he did not lose contact with the Academia de Bellas Artes in
Seville and with the Spanish national exhibitions.[2] In Netherlands and Belgium, he learned from the work of
Constantin Meunier.[4] He returned to Seville in 1904. In October of that year, the Academia de Bellas Artes named Bilbao as a member of Sculpture of the Provincial Commission of Historical and Artistic Monuments.[5][4][6]