Valencia
He completed his training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. He attended the National Exhibitions of 1915 and 1917. In 1919 he exhibited in Havana. He traveled extensively between Spain, the United States and Cuba. In 1927 he traveled to Cuba, where he met Rafael Larco Herrera who, by showing him some indigenous portraits and watercolors, awakened Mateu's interest in getting to know Peru and especially Cuzco. In that city he created an important series of sculptures in which he captured the characteristics of Peruvian racial types, whose personality he masterfully captured. In general, America radically determined its production in those years. Upon his return to Spain he definitively established his residence in Madrid, but continued traveling through Belgium, France, Italy, the United States and Chile. He exhibited individually and participated in several national exhibitions. He was a professor at the Schools of Arts and Crafts of Jaén (1933) and Madrid and an Honorary Academician at San Carlos de Valencia. In 1980 he was awarded the Centennial Medal of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.
Madrid
