Mariano Rodríguez
"Mariano" Rodriguez is part of that generation of Cuban artists who felt the urgency to break with the influences of the Academics. Constantly and tirelessly in search of a vehicle by which to express his personality in the context of a truly “Cuban” expression, in 1941 he started to elaborate on his theme of the roosters. In the early 40’s he was influenced by the great European masters, especially Picasso and Matisse; in 1967 he started his series of Fruit and Reality; in 1980 he started the series of the Masses, and in the mid eighties, the Feast of Love. Through it all, he faithfully continued to strive for essentially “Cuban” elements, the most consistent of which was the virility of the rooster, master of the domestic patio: in every one of his phases Mariano painted a rooster.
In 1960, he started to work in ceramic in the studio of Santiago de las Vegas, and one year later he realized his mural titled “Human Suffering” in the El Vedado district of Havana. In 1960 he was named cultural attache to India, where he stayed for eighteen months, and later served as the president of the “Casa de …
"Mariano" Rodriguez is part of that generation of Cuban artists who felt the urgency to break with the influences of the Academics. Constantly and tirelessly in search of a vehicle by which to express his personality in the context of a truly “Cuban” expression, in 1941 he started to elaborate on his theme of the roosters. In the early 40’s he was influenced by the great European masters, especially Picasso and Matisse; in 1967 he started his series of Fruit and Reality; in 1980 he started the series of the Masses, and in the mid eighties, the Feast of Love. Through it all, he faithfully continued to strive for essentially “Cuban” elements, the most consistent of which was the virility of the rooster, master of the domestic patio: in every one of his phases Mariano painted a rooster.
In 1960, he started to work in ceramic in the studio of Santiago de las Vegas, and one year later he realized his mural titled “Human Suffering” in the El Vedado district of Havana. In 1960 he was named cultural attache to India, where he stayed for eighteen months, and later served as the president of the “Casa de Las Americas” in Havana until his retirement on 1985.
Courtesy of Pan American Art Projects
