Julián Romero and his Patron Saint

Follower of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)

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Follower of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)

Candia, Crete (Greece), 1541 - Toledo (Spain), 1614

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Julián Romero and his Patron Saint

1612 - 1618. Oil on canvas.
Not on display

Dressed in the habit of a Knight of Saint James, the subject of this portrait kneels in prayer. An armored knight standing at his side and looking to the heavens may well be Saint Louis, King of France, who was considered the model Christian soldier in that period. An inscription on one side of the base of the column identifies the kneeling figure as Julián Romero, he of the Deeds (ca. 1518-1578), a valiant soldier who first reached the rank of Capitan of the Tercios (Spain’s soldiers in Flanders) and later that of Field Marshall, as well as commander of Saint James on several occasions. He was one of the soldiers responsible for Philip II’s victory at Saint Quentin (1557) and he participated in important campaigns in Holland, alongside the Duke of Alba; and Italy. The inscription maintains an important error about this figure, stating his place of birth as Antequera, Malaga when, in fact, he was born in his mother’s native Cuenca. She was probably born in nearby Torrejoncillo de Huete, while Romero’s father was from Vizcaya. It seems likely that the inscription is considerably later than the portrait and was added to help identify the brave soldier, emphasizing his merits and, by association, those of his family. In 1622, doña Francisca Romero broke off her relations with the foundation in Madrid and strengthened her ties to Toledo, specifically, the parish of Santo Tomé, where her husband had his family home. This work does not have the pictorial structure of works by El Greco or his studio and is, instead, an offshoot of his style, although it may have been based on a model from his workshop (Text drawn from Ruiz, L.: El Greco en el Museo Nacional del Prado. Catálogo Razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2007, p. 261; El Greco. Guía de sala, Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, 2011, p. 63).

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Inventory number: P002445
Author: Follower of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)
Title: Julián Romero and his Patron Saint
Date: 1612 - 1618
Technique: Oil
Support: Canvas
Dimension: Height: 207 cm; Width: 127 cm
Provenance: Collection of Marquess of Lugros, Alcalá la Real (Jaén), 1890; Collection of Leopoldo Eguilaz, Granada; Legacy of Luis de Errazu y Rubio de Tejada, 1926.
Entry date: 1926

Bibliography +

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Beruete y Moret, A. de, El Greco pintor de retratos, Blass, Madrid, 1914, pp. 21.

Mayer, A. L., Domenico Theotocopuli, El Greco, Munich, 1926, pp. n.337.

Mayer, August L.1885-1944, La Pintura Española, Labor, Barcelona, 1926, pp. nº337.

Tormo y Monzó, Elías, Las iglesias del antiguo Madrid. Notas de estudio, Madrid, 1927, pp. 206.

Mayer, August L.1885-1944, El Greco, Klinkhardt Und Biermann, Berlin, 1931, pp. nº337.

Legendre, M. Hartmann, A, Domenico Theotocopouli dit el Greco, Hyperion, Paris, 1937, pp. 50.

Noul, M., Sotomayor, F., Muguruza, P., Les chefs-d'oeuvre du Musée du Prado, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Ginebra, 1939, pp. n.49.

Camón Aznar, José, Dominico Greco, II, Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1950, pp. 1110-1113 n.734.

Marichalar, Antonio, Julian Romero, EspasaCalpe, Madrid, 1952, pp. 510-520.

Soehner, Halldor, Greco in Spainien. Teil I. Grecos Stilentwicklung in Spanien, Münchner jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, VIII, 1957, pp. 123-194 [151].

Soehner, Halldor, Greco in Spainien. Teil II. Atelier und Nachfolge Greco's; Teil III katalog der Gëmalde Grecos, seines ateliers und seiner Nachfolge in Spanischem besitz, Münchner jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, IX-X, 1958-1959, pp. 147-242 [n.38].

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Pita Andrade, José Manuel, Ob el Grieka Ob Goje, Narodni Muzei, Belgrado, 1981, pp. 66,70,71.

Cossío, Manuel B., El Greco, Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1981, pp. nº358.

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Marías, Fernando, El Greco . Guía, Alianza Editorial - Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1998, pp. 49.

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Other inventories +

Inv. Nuevas Adquisiciones (iniciado en 1856). Núm. 1509.
Legado de D. Luis de Errazu, que se aceptó en la junta celebrada por el patronato el 18 de noviembre de 1926, y fue entregado el lunes 21 de marzo de 1927. / autor: Greco / 1509: Asunto: retrato del maestre de campo D. Julián Romero. / Alto: 2,06 ms; ancho, 1,29. lienzo

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1933. Núm. 2445.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1985. Núm. 2445.

Inscriptions +

Julián Romero / el d[e] las Azañas N[atura]l. / d[e] Antequera Com[endad]or / en la Or[de]n de S[a]n Tiago / M[aes]tre d[e] Campo el / mas Famoso d[e] los / Egercitos d[e] Ytalia / y Flandes de cuios / hechos Gloriosos / estan llenas las / Historias
Front, central left area

T-1509
Scrap of paper. Front, lower right corner