20th Century Spanish

Born in Seville on 20 January 1922 into one of the city’s foremost bourgeois families. After quitting his initial career choice of medicine, in 1937 Romero Ressendi began studying at the School of Arts and Crafts of Seville, where his artistic talent was soon recognized despite being criticised for his tendency to disregard conventional ideas. During that period, he met the painter Eufemiano Sánchez (1921-1995), and they would remain close friends ever since.

In 1941 he enrolled at the newly created Santa Isabel de Hungría School of Fine Arts, where he continued until 1943. He soon began to stand out among his colleagues for his technical skill in the use of colour and for the personal versions he executed of the subject matters proposed by the teachers.

After completing his art education in his hometown, he moved to Madrid. There he attended engraving classes at the San Fernando Royal School of Fine Arts, alternating his activity between Seville and Madrid.

Unfortunately, there is very little documentation on the artist dating from this time. It is known that in 1940-1941 he had an exhibition at Galería Aeolian in Madrid, presenting a selection of paintings and drawings, and that in 1946 he had his first major solo show at Galería Cubiles, which led to his recognition as an artist. From that moment onwards, although he continued to be marginalised by critics, he became one of the most sought-after painters in Seville and Madrid, thanks to his unusual creations, charged with rebelliousness and an extraordinary sense of mystery.

Romero Ressendi died in Madrid on 11 April 1977 at the age of fifty-five. The scant existing information on his life has given him an almost legendary status.