As a nod to Havana’s 500th anniversary, leading art historian José Ramón Alonso Lorea takes us on an illustrated voyage to the 1940s, when Cuba’s modern art movement was consolidated. The work of these artists was widely promoted by arts patron María Luisa Gómez Mena, founder of Galería del Prado, a pivotal figure in garnering international recognition for Cuban contemporary art, including the 1944 MoMA exhibition Modern Cuban Painters.* Generally considered the vanguardia generations, their subjects ranged from figures and portraits to still-lives and landscapes, while their stylistic range favored a colorful palette and a baroque sense of form and composition.
The leading artists among this group were Amelia Peláez, Fidelio Ponce, and Carlos Enríquez (the first generation), and René Portocarrero, Cundo Bermúdez, Mariano Rodríguez, Mario Carreño, Luis Martínez Pedro and Felipe Orlando (the second generation). The continued productivity of both generations fostered the consolidation of a modern Cuban art and defined the creation of a regional and luminous oeuvre, which has since been referred to by critics as the “Escuela de La Habana”. The rich images and historical overview will be complemented by video clips of some of these artists in impromptu encounters or working in their studios, followed by a Q&A.
Pictured above: María Luisa Gómez Mena stands with a core group of artists and critics in the doorway of Galería del Prado, c. 1942-1944. Gómez Mena stands sixth from the left, in front. Others in the shot include José Gómez Sicre, Mario Carreño, Cundo Bermúdez, Alfredo Lozano, Amelia Peláez, Mestre, Roberto Diago, and Eugenio Rodríguez. The photograph is attributed to Julio López Bernstein. Courtesy José Ramón Alonso Lorea.
This presentation is part of the CreateNYC Language Access program, and it will be held in Spanish, with simultaneous English translation via earphones.
INSTITUTO CERVANTES
211 East 49th Street, bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves., NYC
FREE ADMISSION for MEMBERS
of CCCNY or IC
RSVP at: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
For a pertinent article by José Ramón Alonso Lorea on the Escuela de La Habana
and the teaching of art history in Cuba, click here: http://www.estudiosculturales2003.es/EscuelaHabana_HistoriaArteCuba.html
For a coffee chat between Mariano Rodríguez and René Portocarrero, click here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8rsva4nwtxl0bkz/Ren%C3%A9%20
Portocarrero%20cumple%20100%20a%C3%B1os.mp4?dl=0
*Pictured right: Catalogue cover of the 1944 MoMA exhibit.
Pictured above: María Luisa Gómez Mena stands
with a core group of artists and critics in the doorway of
Galería del Prado, c. 1942-1944. Gómez Mena stands
sixth from the left, in front. Others in the shot include
José Gómez Sicre, Mario Carreño, Cundo Bermúdez,
Alfredo Lozano, Amelia Peláez, Mestre, MLGM,
Roberto Diago, and Eugenio Rodríguez.
The photograph is attributed
to Julio López Berestein.
José Ramón Alonso Lorea is a graduate of the University of Havana, where he pursued studies in popular art, art theory and practice, anthropology, and archaeology, cultural advancement, conservation, restoration, and museology. He has been a professor of art history at the University of Havana, and a researcher and curator in the Department of Research and Curation at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. He has spoken at conferences in Cuba, Colombia, and Spain, and has published articles on art and culture in journals and magazines in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Spain. He has collaborated on projects by the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos and the Centro Español de Estudios de América Latina, both in Madrid. As an independent researcher, he is the author, coordinator and editor of the project EstudiosCulturales200
This event is co-sponsored by Instituto Cervantes
And is supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
And is presented as part of our year-long celebration of the 500th anniversary of the
City of Havana, culminating in our 18th annual flagship conference, Oda a La Habana:
The first 500 years, to be held at Barnard College on Sunday, November 17, 2019.
With the promotional collaboration of
