José María Romero

JOSÉ MARÍA ROMERO (Seville, 1815-1880).
"Pilgrimage".
Oil on canvas.
Preserves original canvas and period frame with faults.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 82 x 106 cm; 118 x 142 cm (frame).
Popular scene in which the author presents a clear composition, ordered in a circular scheme that leaves a slight space in the foreground to avoid confusion and give the scene depth. The image is populated with numerous characters, we see several men and women, dressed in clothes of brown and reddish tones, dotted with white touches that reinforce the three-dimensional construction avoiding excessive chromatic monotony. The characters in the foreground are clearly highlighted by their faces, with exaggerated gestures, while the figures in the background are blurred, without losing expressiveness. The space is closed on the left side by a house. One of the details hardly noticeable in the composition is the differentiation of classes, while the characters on the cart, the horse or leading the cows are elegantly dressed, the group of people watching them on the left side of the composition reveal with their clothes that they belong to a lower class. Thus the work shows the artist's interest or the influence of the costumbrista painting, not only from the usual point of view of the current where the people are shown in an idyllic way but looking for a message where there is room for social criticism. The piece is worked with a dry brushstroke, in dark tones that reinforce the leaden impression of the atmosphere.
Professor and academic of the School of Fine Arts of Seville, José María Romero worked for the Duke of Montpensier. In 1866 he moved to Madrid where he dedicated himself to portraiture, specializing in children's portraits. Among his works are "Ricardo and Federico Santaló" and "Enrique, Concepción and Salud Santaló", preserved in El Prado, and "El niño Eugenio de la Borbolla en traje de guardiamarina", preserved in the Romantic Museum of Madrid. He also cultivated genre painting, flower painting and religious painting, among whose production stands out "Imposición de la casulla a san Ildefonso", today housed in the cathedral of Cadiz. Romero y López also participated in several National Exhibitions of Fine Arts and won numerous awards.