-Rene Portocarrero 1952 Cuban Art Jarron Con Flores Ink And Gouache Ink On Paper
Jarron Con Flores, ink on paper by Rene Portocarrero (1912-1985).
This wonderful drawing made by Portocarrero is one of the few that survive from his artistic period of the 1940s and 1950s. This kind of finished drawings made on paper from this period of the artist's work are very rare. Between the 1940s and early 1950s, Portocarrero experimented with organic conceptions of still life such as flowers, table arrangements, and vases with floral arrangements. As a note, there are several oil paintings with similar themes from the same period, which would denote that our drawing would be part of multiple studies on the subject. Our drawing is a finished one and is completely decorated on the entire sheet. On the verso of the drawing you can see brush tests of linear thicknesses and gradations of gray and black ink.
Title: Jarron Con Flores, or Naturaleza Muerta.
Technique: Black and gray ink, pen and point of the brush on paper.
Measures: 463.55 mm by 368.30 mm (18.25 x 14.5 Inches).
Frame measures: 520.7 mm by 616.95 x 50.8 mm (20.5 x 24.25 x 2.00 Inches).
Signature: At lower right corner signed, "PORTOCARRERO 1952".
René Portocarrero
He born in Havana in 24 February 1912 and died in Havana, 7 April 1985. was a Cuban artist recognized internationally for his achievements. Portocarrero began his artistic education at the San Alejandro academy, but left early and is hence considered 'self taught'. He put on his first exhibition in 1934, at the Havana Lyceum, beginning a long and fruitful career which included a 1937 collaboration with Mariano Rodríguez and work as a 'free studies' teacher of painting and sculpture. After travels in Haiti, Europe and the United States he gave his first show to an overseas audience at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City in 1945. In 1950, he worked with Wifredo Lam, Mariano, Martinez Pedro and Amelia Peláez in the village of Santiago de las Vegas. In 1961, he had meetings with Fidel Castro in the José Martí National Library, where they discussed culture. René received lessons in painting from Nicolás Guillén Landrián. In 1977 he worked for the Japan Women's Association. In 1979, he worked for UNESCO and AIAP. He knew Peggy Guggenheim. As well as a painter and sculptor, Portocarrero worked as a ceramicist, scenic designer and book illustrator, publishing his own Las Máscaras (The Masks) in 1935 and El Sueño (The Dream) in 1939. He was also a muralist, producing public artworks for the Havana Prison, a church in Bauta, Cuba, the Cuban National Hospital, the Cuban National Theatre and the Habana Hilton. His artworks form part of the permanent collections of galleries in Argentina (Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires), Brazil (Museums of Modern Art, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), Canada (National Gallery, Ottawa), France (Modern Arts, Paris), Peru (Instituto de Arte Contemporaneo, Lima), the United States (Museums of Modern Art, New York and San Francisco; Milwaukee Art Center; Union Panamericana, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Museum, Indianapolis), Uruguay (Bellas Artes, Montevideo) and Venezuela (Bellas Artes, Caracas), as well as his native Cuba (Museo Nacional, Havana).
References: Christies, 21 Nov 2002. Sale 1154 Latin American Sale Lot-20, Similar.
Collateral: It is professionally framed with white museum mats and UV protective glass.
Condition: The overall condition of this art-piece is very good. The paper is in great shape with no tears or missing parts with minor age stains. This piece has been carefully inspected to guarantee the condition and authenticity.
INVENTORY REF: D201223MNNEM/.5409
