José Navarro Llorens

JOSÉ NAVARRO LLORENS (Valencia, 1867 - 1923).
"Temptations of St. Anthony".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 12 x 19,5 cm; 37 x 44,5 cm (frame).

In this small oil on panel, José Navarro Llorens offers an updated and personal interpretation of the classic theme of the temptations of St. Anthony Abbot. The scene takes place in a dark interior, almost theatrical, where the bodies and expressions are cut with a concentrated and dramatic lighting.

In the center of the composition is the saint, represented as a bearded monk, dressed in a blue tunic and girded by a rope belt, a sign of ascetic life. He is seated on a friar's chair. With a troubled gesture, he opens his arms and shows his palms, in a startled attitude that suggests both rejection and supplication. His reddened cheeks and his open eyes, deliberately diverted to another point, reveal the effort to avoid the vision that tempts him.

At the opposite end, in semi-darkness, appears a group of women who embody worldly temptations. One of them, the closest to the saint, appears reclining on the carpet, voluptuous and suggestive, surrounded by garlands of scattered flowers, like a seductive offering. The other three, with oriental or Asian features, are arranged behind, also holding garlands; their figures emerge softly from a dark background, creating a contrast of sensuality and mystery. Llorens combines here his usual mastery of color and light with a very effective narrative approach.

José Navarro Llorens took an early path to painting, and studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts in his hometown. After his student period we lose track of him, and we will not find him again until 1895, when, according to Pantorba, he participated for the first and only time in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, obtaining an honorary mention. That same year was the year of the consecration of Joaquín Sorolla, who unanimously won the first medal in that contest. Although they were lifelong friends, it is possible that Navarro, given his bohemian and humble character, did not aspire, like Sorolla, to make a brilliant career of official laurels and courtly prestige. It seems that he never intended to project his work beyond a limited local scope, as can be deduced from the fact that, in his early years, he devoted himself to painting costumbrista and gallant scenes for fans. Nevertheless, his early works show a certain influence of the style of Mariano Fortuny, whom Navarro admired, and from whose example he may have been inspired to travel to Morocco in a second stage. This trip must have taken place shortly after finishing his studies, and he devoted himself to painting local, North African and Orientalist themes. At the beginning of the 20th century he was hired to decorate a palace in Buenos Aires, although Navarro never arrived in Argentina. He embarked with such a destination, but during a stopover in Rio de Janeiro the painter decided to stay there indefinitely. In the Brazilian city he continued to work and held an exhibition that was widely celebrated. However, nostalgia for his homeland, the absolute protagonist of his pictorial language, led him to return to Valencia, settling in Godella permanently. There he lived the rest of his life in a simple and humble way, giving painting classes at the town's Academy and painting tirelessly. His style draws from various influences, such as Fortuny, Domingo Marqués or Levantine luminism, but it was always deeply personal, linked to Navarrete's own way of understanding the world. His painting refers to Mediterranean clarity through beautiful transparencies, a corporeal luminosity and nervous and vibrant brushstrokes. His is an energetic, robust and vital realism, which turns light into a plastic and even tactile value, rather than a chromatic one. José Navarro is represented in the Fine Arts Museums of Valencia and Asturias, as well as in the Gerstenmaier collection.