Mariano Rodriguez

MARIANO RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba, 1912-1990).
"Naked man", ca. 1945.
Ink on paper.
Signed at lower right.
Provenance: Estate Mariano Rodriguez, Havana, Cuba.
Bibliography:
- "Sexología y Sociedad", Havana, Cuba, year 8, no. 20, 2002, reproduced on p. 15.
-Catalog raisonné, "Mariano, Painting, drawing and ceramics 1950-1966, volume II", under the direction of José Veigas Zamora, editions Vanguardia Cabana, 2008, reproduced in color with n.º 45.33, p. 193.
Measurements: 36 x 28 cm.

A self-taught painter, Mariano Rodriguez began at a very early age in the art world. In 1930 he began his artistic career and, in 1936, he traveled to Mexico, where he became impregnated with his first artistic influences. Rodriguez then began to use colors reminiscent of the tropical environment: green, earth and ocher colors with which he defined figures with strong features, seeming to extend beyond the two-dimensional limit of the painting. Already in the 40's, he began an expressionist period, inspired mainly by Picasso and Matisse. It was at that time, from 1941, that he began his series of "roosters". He also dedicated other series around peasants, women, landscapes and still life. Later, he showed another turn in his artistic career, using darker colors and moving away from figuration. Between 1962 and 1963, he told through his paintings, the contemporary history of Cuba, particularly the Revolution. His themes are varied, but his work shows a predilection for the feminine universe, with a strong sexual connotation. Mariano Rodríguez died in 1990 in Havana.