JUAN BAUTISTA ROMERO

Juan Bautista Romero was one of the most important artists of Spanish Levante who painted flowers. Without a doubt, he was already painting still life before he enrolled in the Royal Academy of San Carlos in Valencia, and in this institution he got the first prize in 1785. The foundation of the above-mentioned Academy in 1768 under protection of Carlos III, and the impetus that the king gave to the silk industry, marked the creation of a Salon of Flowers in 1778 attached to the academy of San Carlos. In general the students who studied there were not well prepared for the realization of great historical compositions and their models were employees in the confection of luxurious cloths produced in the Valencian silk factories. This is the main reason of the popularity of the genre of flowers during the last third of the 18th century, the most outstanding representatives being Benito Espinós, José López Enguídanos, and Francisco Lacoma, as well as Juan Bautista Romero. According to his own testimony, he lived for some time in Madrid and he made good use of this sojourn as he extended his knowledge by continuing his studies in the Royal Academy of San Fernando. There are also some examples of his works when he worked as a painter for the Royal Porcelain Factory of Buen Retiro. In 1796 he gave as a present a couple of vases Manuel Godoy with a hope to get to the Court, the latter was at that time Prime Minister and a favourite of the Spanish kings, and probably it was a fundamental reason why Godoy interceded for him and got him the mentioned employment in the porcelain factory. Both of the vases are kept in the Royal Academy of San Fernando, since they were confiscated from the minister after his dismissal in 1808; they serve as an example of Romero’s delicate technique of the painting of the different textures of flowers and the accurate overhaul of his canvases on the basis of dabbed zones tinted with the finest gauze.

Two of his sons, Juan Bautista and Vicente, became also painters of flowers who continued, already in the 19th century, leaving traces in the genre that little by little was getting appreciated not only on the market but also in the specialized artistic historiography.

Claudio Coello 6 28001 Madrid tel. (34) 91 435 0174 galeria@josedelamano.com