Jorge Arche Silva was born in Santo Domingo, Villa Clara, on April 6, 1905, and died in Cádiz, Spain. From adolescence, he became interested in the rich world of the visual arts. His initial studies were at the Villate School of Liberal Arts, guided by Professor Aurelio Melero. He later enrolled at the San Alejandro Academy, where he completed his academic training and successfully embarked on a career as a painter.

In 1935, at the National Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture sponsored by the Ministry of Education, he presented his works “Marino” and “La carta” (The Letter). The latter won an award and was subsequently included in the Permanent Exhibition of the Museum of the Ministry of Education. This helped propel his career amid the difficulties arising from a childhood illness, poliomyelitis, whose after-effects forced him to constantly use crutches and somewhat limited his activities.

He subsequently participated successfully in the National University of Cuba Exhibition, with the works The Letter, Landscape, My Wife and I, Self-Portrait, Mr. Navarrete, René Portocarrero, and Mary, which spanned nearly two decades of uninterrupted creative work. In 1941, he also participated in an exhibition organized for the Second American Conference of the Corporation of Intellectuals, held at the National Capitol. There, he exhibited the pieces René Villaverde, Dr. Emilio Correa, Dr. Fernando Ortiz, Spring, and Domino Players.

Jorge Arche was a great portraitist; in 1944, he presented 19 pieces of this nature at the Lyceum of Mexico, which were well received by the public and critics. He lived and created there for several years, making this country also an heir to his legacy. Two years later, he presented his work again on the island, this time the painting Valley Landscape, at the Third National Exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Education.

His work, “Apostle José Martí,” has been reproduced numerous times, and others have also achieved recognition by posterity, such as “My Wife and I,” “The Letter,” and “A Girl,” which are preserved in the National Museum of Fine Arts. He was a prominent member of the National Institute of Plastic Arts and a prestigious artist for his draftsmanship and his careful work with an intimate and emotional range of colors, distinguishable within the body of work of the so-called Cuban avant-garde.