Juan Fernandez Navarrete

Juan Fernández Navarrete was a Spanish painter of the Mannerist school, who was born in Logroño in 1526. He was also known as El Mudo (The Mute) because he lost his hearing and speech when he was three years old due to an illness. He learned to communicate by sketching objects with charcoal and showed an early talent for art. He received his first instruction from Fray Vicente de Santo Domingo, a Hieronymite monk at Estella, and later from Gaspar Becerra, a sculptor and painter. He traveled to Italy in 1548 and stayed there for about 20 years. He visited Naples, Rome, Florence, and Milan, where he studied the works of the Italian masters, especially Sebastiano del Piombo, Tintoretto, and Titian. He also met Pellegrino Tibaldi in Rome and became his friend and assistant. He developed a style that combined the Venetian colorism with the Roman classicism and the Lombard naturalism. In 1568, he returned to Spain and was appointed as the king's painter by Philip II, who entrusted him with the decoration of the monastery-palace of El Escorial. He worked there for eleven years until his death, producing many paintings for the altarpieces, chapels, sacristies, and cloisters. Some of his most celebrated works are The Nativity, The Baptism of Christ, Abraham Receiving the Three Angels, The Adoration of the Magi, The Last Supper, and The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence. His paintings are characterized by boldness and freedom in design, rich and warm coloration, expressive figures, and dramatic lighting. He was influenced by the Counter-Reformation's ideals of devotional imagery and by the king's preference for seriousness and decorum. He died in Toledo on March 28, 1579, at the age of 52 or 53. He was buried in the church of San Juan de los Reyes. He left behind a legacy of innovation and creativity that influenced generations of Spanish artists. He also founded the Fundación Juan Fernández de Navarrete in Logroño to promote his work and support contemporary art.