Román Navarro

ROMÁN NAVARRO GARCÍA DE VINUESA (La Coruña, 1854–1928).
"Country View."
Watercolor on paper.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 21 x 34 cm; 36 x 49 cm (frame).

Román Navarro combined his military career with his studies in painting at the School of Arts and Crafts in La Coruña. Thanks to a scholarship from the Provincial Council, he furthered his artistic training in Rome and later traveled throughout Europe. Upon his return, he was assigned to Barcelona as a drawing instructor and later returned to La Coruña as a professor and director of the School of Arts and Crafts. There, he taught prominent painters such as Souto Cuero, Morlli, Vaamonde, Francisco Llorens, and Luis Mosquera. He contributed to magazines of the time and participated in the National Fine Arts Exhibitions of 1890 and 1897, receiving an honorable mention at the latter. He was also awarded a gold medal at the 1888 Santiago de Compostela Exhibition and received an honorable mention at the 1898 Barcelona World’s Fair. After retiring from military life, he intensified his work as a painter, participating in the Galician Regional Exhibitions of 1917 and 1923 in La Coruña, and working continuously until his death. In his work, Navarro excelled at drawing, particularly with themes inspired by Cervantes, and in painting he leaned toward his fondness for equine, hunting, and, above all, military subjects, following the creative style of the Catalan artist and fellow military officer Josep Cusachs—a genre that was very popular during the Restoration. However, portraiture was the genre in which he excelled most. Notable examples in this field include the portrait of “Cardinal Payá” (La Coruña Provincial Council) and that of King Alfonso XII on horseback, a work in the Prado Museum’s collection that earned him a medal at the 1897 National Exhibition. Other portraits of monarchs by this painter are known, such as the one in the Army Museum in Madrid. In addition, Román Navarro’s works are represented at the Provincial Council of La Coruña, several museums in Galicia, various ministries, and the Palacio de Oriente.