Antonio Gomar y Gomar

ANTONIO GOMAR Y GOMAR, (Beniganim, Valencia, 1853 - Madrid, 1911). "Vineyards". Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower right corner. Measurements: 38 x 55 cm, 58,50 x 75,50 cm (frame). Painter specialized in the thematic landscape, Antonio Gomar was formed in the School of Fine Arts of San Carlos de Valencia, where he was a disciple of Rafael Montesinos. He became known in 1872, when he was only nineteen years old, at the Regional Exhibition of Valencia, where he was awarded the first prize. At this time he settled in Madrid, where he received commissions for decorative paintings such as those made for the Café Fornos. An inveterate traveler, Gomar searched for singular landscapes, the clearest example of which is found in "El Albaicín (Granada)", his best known work, painted in 1882 and currently conserved in the Prado Museum. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and Spain, and was known for his landscapes in France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Italy. He also lived in Venice, where he became friends with the painter Martin Rico, who undoubtedly influenced his artistic language. He participated for the first time in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1881, year in which he rejected a third medal because he considered that the jury had been unfair to him. From that year until 1904, he participated in all its editions with success. He was a close friend of the painter Joaquín Sorolla, who in 1906 painted a portrait of him, which Gomar bequeathed to the Museum of Modern Art in 1912, and which in 1971 passed to the Prado Museum. Specializing in painting the most diverse landscapes, he produced large decorative canvases with Spanish views - from Liérganes or the Picos de Europa to La Alhambra - sometimes plagued with allegorical motifs, as well as small "countries" of quick work, very fashionable in those years and with good sales in the bourgeois market. Gomar is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Santander, the Deputation of Pontevedra, the Congress of Deputies and the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as in various private collections.