Miguel Navarro Cañizares (c. 1835 – 23 October 1913) was a Spanish painter and art teacher who worked in Venezuela and Brazil.

Biography

He was born to a basket maker in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and attended the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

. Later, he moved to Madrid, where he took classes at the San Fernando Academy and found a position in the workshop of

Federico de Madrazo Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (9 February 181510 June 1894) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Rome, he was the son of José de Madrazo y Agudo, the painter and former Director of the Prado Museum, and Isabel Kuntz Valentini. Federico's gra ...

.Brief biography
@ Wikihistoria del Arte Venezolano. In 1861, he entered a competition to fill a teaching vacancy at the "Escuela superior de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado", but was not successful. For several years, he participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where his painting of Saint Catherine being transported by angels won a gold medal. His canvas depicting

Agustina de Aragón Agustina Raimunda María Saragossa i Domènech (March 4, 1786 – May 29, 1857), better known as Agustina of Aragón, was a Spanish woman who defended Spain during the Peninsular War, first as a civilian and later as a professional officer in ...

was distributed as a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

and used to illustrate a novel. In 1864, he won a grant to study in Rome for his version of the

Raising of Jairus' daughter The raising of Jairus' daughter is a reported miracle of Jesus that occurs in the synoptic Gospels, where it is interwoven with the account of the healing of a bleeding woman. The narratives can be found in Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26 a ...

. Later, in 1871, the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Caracas, , who was attending the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

, saw some of Navarro's paintings and invited him to execute murals in the

Caracas Cathedral The Caracas Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Anne is the seat of the Roman Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese of Caracas, located on the Plaza Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. Its chapel of the Holy Trinity is the burial site of the ...

; a project that would never be realized. Navarro arrived in Venezuela in 1872, shortly after President

Antonio Guzmán Blanco Antonio Leocadio Guzmán Blanco (28 February 1829 – 28 July 1899) was a Venezuelan military leader, statesman, diplomat and politician. He was the president of Venezuela for , from 1870 until 1877, from 1879 until 1884, and from 1886 until 1 ...

had consolidated his rule at the . The editor of ''La Opinión Nacional'', a pro-government daily, suggested that the newly arrived (and politically neutral) Navarro would be the perfect choice to immortalize the event. The huge painting hung in the Senate chambers at the

Palacio Federal Legislativo The Palacio Federal Legislativo ( English: Federal Legislative Palace), also known as the Capitolio, is a historic building in Caracas, Venezuela which houses the National Assembly. Located southwest of the Plaza Bolívar, it was built between 1 ...

until 1889, when it disappeared; probably destroyed by opponents of the former President who vandalized statues and portraits of him throughout the country.

His career in Brazil

In 1876, Archbishop Guevara was removed from office and went into exile. Bereft of patronage (and possibly no longer welcome), Navarro resigned his teaching position at the Academy of Fine Arts and departed for Rio de Janeiro with his wife and children. However, an epidemic of yellow fever there made him stop in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

. Soon, he found a position teaching at the "Escola de Artes e Ofícios da Bahia", but was dismissed a year later due to serious disagreements with the school's Director, José Antonio da Cunha Couto (1832-1894). As a result, Navarro and some friends decided to create a separate art academy. With the support of the and the state government, the school opened just before Christmas that same year. @ Pitoresco. Although the school was successful, Navarro could not maintain a sufficient income from the limited local demand for art so, after five years, he relocated to Rio de Janeiro, where he worked primarily as a portrait painter. His patrons there included the

Royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. He remained there until his death. A street in the Pituba district of Salvador is named after him.

References

External links

History of the Escola de Belas Artes
from the EBA website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro Canizares, Miguel 1830s births 1913 deaths Spanish history painters Spanish Orientalist painters Painters from Valencia Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni Spanish emigrants to Brazil Spanish portrait painters 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists

Biography

His career in Brazil

References

Further reading

External links