José Romo Vargas
José Miguel Angel Romo Vargas was a 20th-century Chilean painter and important member of the Vanguard artistic movement. He was born in Santiago, Chile on 23 December 1900 and died in Ñuñoa, Santiago on 23 August 1977. Vargas worked primarily with oil paints, but was also known to sketch in sepia and charcoal. He was commissioned to paint portraits and landscapes, including many seascapes, known as marinas in Chile. He was part of the Vanguard, an artistic, literary, cultural, and political current that was at its height between 1922 and the early 1930s. This period was followed by the late Vanguard, which included surrealism and impressionism, and which continued to influence literature and art until the early 1950s. Romo's work is known for numerous portraits of family, friends, neighbors, artists, writers, and public figures. His work depicted a variety of themes, the most popular and best of them known being landscapes of the Chilean countryside and the sea coast (which he loved). Other works depicted thematically include: still life, Chilean folklore, couples dancing the cueca (the national dance), and decorative and colorful depictions of roosters (which he often painted by the commission on the walls of restaurants), along with other decorative work. He is known to have been contracted to paint indoor murals in the homes of well-to-do families in Southern Chile, as well as scenes of dock workers in the shipyards of the southern city of Valdivia. He is also known for several portraits of his favorite composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, whom he depicted as a dark figure of intellect and passion. He has also painted a portrait of presidents Pedro Aguirre Cerda and Juan Antonio Ríos. He also painted a portrait of his brother-in-law, the poet Pablo de Rokha, as a young man, as well as de Rokha's wife, Winétt de Rokha, who is also a poet. José Romo also painted the iconic portrait of Pablo de Rokha later in life, which can be found in digital form in memoriachilena.cl.
The only exhibition of his work that is known to have taken place was in the salon of the British-Chilean Institute in Santiago, Chile, from 26 to 30 May 1986. On the occasion of the exhibit, a brief biography was written by his daughter, Dolores Romo, and included in the program. What follows is a translation of the bio notes and a list of the works exhibited:
"He was born in Santiago, Chile at the beginning of [the 20th century] in the year 1900. He studied at the School of Fine Arts with the painter Juan Francisco González, among others. Therefore, he belongs to the generation of forgotten painters. He started painting in his youth. In 1927, he married the woman who became his partner for the rest of his life and the inspiration for a great part of his work, Elena Díaz Loyola, sister of the poet Pablo de Rokha. That same year, he was awarded First Prize from the Painting Salon of Talca, Chile. He never had any formal employment, and he traveled the length of the country as an itinerant painter, painting portraits and other works on commission that provided for his family of six children. Between 1930 and 1940, he traveled through the southern provinces where he became quite well known. His work can be found in the cities of Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Osorno, Valdivia, Temuco, Traiguén, Angol, and Concepción. Later, he lived with his family in Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. In Viña del Mar, he worked as an artist for the Museum of Fine Arts in Quinta Vergara (1942). In 1945, he relocated definitively to Santiago in order that his children could attend high school. Throughout [the 1940s], he continued to dedicate himself to portraiture, and also took up engraving and other media. Among his portraits are those of two presidents, Pedro Aguirre Cerda and Juan Antonio Ríos. The possibilities for exhibiting work during this time were scarce for those who were not formally employed. However, his creativity was not deterred and in his workshop, numerous works could be found in diverse materials, such as paintings on tarp, cardboard, wood, and bone. Around this time, he won an amateur contest of paintings of Bernardo O'Higgins, under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. (Upon the founding father's head, Romo painted a profile of his wife). From his prolific work, his son and daughters kept some paintings in the US and Venezuela. The rest can be found, with great difficulty today, in Concepción".
"Works exhibited: 25
- Portrait of his wife
- Portrait of his eldest daughter [Judit Romo, poet]
- Portrait of a girl
- Portrait of a boy
- Carnations
- Flowers in a vase
- Copihues
- Threshing wheat at midday
- House in Licantén
- Seagull
- Country landscape
- Rose
- The Estuary
- Licantén "El Buche"
- Forest
- Roses in a flask
- Marina
- Summer in the country
- Cueca at nightfall
- Ramada
- Flowers
- Miniature portrait
- Profile (miniature)
- Two winter landscapes (1)
- Two winter landscapes (2)."
In his late 60s, José Romo was diagnosed with cataracts. He began to use pastels as his preferred medium for portraits. He also experimented with quick sketches capturing the movement of the cueca, using only two or three colors. In the family blog maintained by his granddaughter, the writer Mariana Romo-Carmona, visitors can view images of his paintings that have been found so far. These include portraits of family and commissioned paintings that were contributed by blog readers. To visit the blog, go to https://familiaromo.wordpress.com/
Works[edit]
Two of Romo's works in oil were located in an auction house in Madrid, in 2018, including "Playa de Horcones," depicted below, which was titled and signed by the artist.
References[edit]
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