Cordoba, November 9, 1874…
149 years have passed since the city of courtyards and caliphate art saw the birth of one of the most influential and recognized artists in 20th-century Spanish art. An artist who managed to capture, through his work, the beauty and the mystery of Andalusian women. That artist is Julio Romero de Torres.
The childhood and youth of Julio Romero de Torres were marked by the artistic and humanistic atmosphere that permeated his home thanks to his mother, Rosario de Torres Delgado, and his father, Rafael Romero Barros. We could say that this first Cordoba courtyard in Plaza del Potro saw the birth and growth of a great circle of artists, where without doubt the Romero de Torres family would mark a before and after in the conservation and valorization of their city's heritage, highlighting Rafael Romero Barros as director of the Archaeological Museum, also professor at the Provincial School of Fine Arts and conservator of the Provincial Museum of Fine Arts of Cordoba (García de la Torre, 2008, pp. 20-22).
In addition to his family environment, from a young age he had the opportunity to meet and learn about the works of renowned authors in the art world such as Leonardo da Vinci, Valdés Leal, Édouard Manet, along with other artists who marked his personality as a painter.
Throughout his career as an artist, Julio Romero de Torres received numerous awards due to his distinctive pictorial style, highlighting his first Honorable Mention at the National Exhibition of 1895 with his work ¡Look How Beautiful She Was! and Gold Medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition of 1904 with his work Little Piconera, among others.
Regarding his style, to understand his work we can differentiate three key stages in his artistic production. We find an initial stage where the influence of his father is evident, highlighting themes related to social realism such as the works Circle for the Circle of Friendship of Cordoba (1905) and Vividoras del Amor (1906). Once we enter the 20th century, after his first travels, "modernism" and "symbolism" become present in his works. In this second stage, the artist begins to forge his own style, which includes idealized Cordoba landscapes, microscenes, and figures in close-up shots. We can appreciate these characteristics in his work Nuestra Señora de Andalucía (1907) and Sacred Love, Profane Love (1908).
"My style imposed itself because it is the truth."
Julio Romero de Torres.
We can consider 1915 as the start of his mature stage where we see works such as The Grace (1915) and Cante Hondo (1922-1924). In this period, his work is influenced by his mentor Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, as well as his unique interpretation of the "regionalism andalusian" where women are protagonists along with a "symbolic allegory."
As seen in Romero de Torres' work, "symbolism" was closely linked to "esotericism." The artist sought to represent messages unknown to the public of his time, focusing on situating women as his main source of inspiration and turning them into his "muse." In this way, the artist wants to convey that the figure of a woman should not be seen negatively but rather positively. That is, he did not seek to give women a negative meaning but to represent them as symbols of divinity just like great artists such as Titian, Velázquez, or Botticelli among others.
The first women represented by Romero de Torres can be found in his family environment, being these his mother, his sister, and his wife. Once his work is consolidated within the "symbolism," he represents Andalusian women through different models, with Maria Teresa López as his main muse. This young woman lived with her grandmother who was a neighbor of the artist, who upon meeting her fell in love with her youthful face and proposed to become her principal model. Some works where Maria Teresa is the protagonist are La Fuensanta (1929) and Little Piconera (1930), etc.
All these models influenced his work personifying various pictorial themes such as mythological, biblical, profane and allegorical topics. In those representations we can observe those unmistakable “juliorromerian” traits that aim to take us to a hidden reality. That reality where beauty is subordinate to emotion, where the artist wants us to feel these emotions using fantasy and synesthesia (Fernández, 2021, pp. 109-112).
But in addition to the female figure, the most characteristic feature of his work is the gaze. A gaze that acts as a mirror of the soul, a soul with an hidden message which Romero de Torres manages to transmit through the eyes. Those unmistakable eyes that transport the emotions the model internally feels, such as in the case of The Samaritan Woman (1920).
"In this background, essence of flowers and songs,
Manuel Machado, 1912.
you have forever fixed the immortal brush
of our inexpressible Cordoba Leonardo."
This work can be admired in the museum that the artist has in his hometown, in the chapel room. To appreciate this work well, one must enter and turn to the right, something I did almost impulsively due to the power of attraction of her gaze. A gaze that, in my case specifically, conveys fire, strength, and passion despite the relaxed attitude of the woman. It is a hypnotic feeling that incites you to stop before the work.
Through the gaze, the artist reveals the personality and history of the woman portrayed, transmitting with it an emotional intensity that makes the viewer connect with the model. These eyes do not usually represent a single emotion but each model in each work has in her gaze a unique feeling that may change according to the mood of who is looking at her.
Undoubtedly, the gaze is an especially significant element in Julio Romero de Torres' work, who had a remarkable ability to capture expression, depth and the soul through his models' eyes, adding a distinctive and emotional element to his portraits. It is for this reason that wherever there is a portrait by Julio Romero de Torres, the model's face will remain eternalized and her soul immortalized.
Bibliography
Digital Archive of Julio Romero de Torres. https://consultasarchivo.cordoba.es/consultas/jsp/jrt/win_main.jsp?welcomePage=jsp/jrt/consulta_simple.jsp&success=/jsp/jrt/win_main.jsp&profile=anonimo_jrt
Fernández Vélez, & Romero de Torres, J. (2021). Julio Romero de Torres: life and work (1a ed.). Almuzara.
García de la Torre, F. (2008). Julio Romero de Torres painter: 1874-1930. Arco Libros.
Mudarra Barrero, M. (1999). Artists who are women and women who are art. Diputación de Córdoba.
Museo Julio Romero de Torres. https://museojulioromero.cordoba.es/
Romero de Torres, & Brihuega Sierra, L. J. (2003). Julio Romero de Torres: symbol, matter and obsession: Cordoba, February-May 2003. Tf Editores [etc.].
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