Francisco Rodón (June 6, 1934 – March 18, 2023) was a Puerto Rican portrait and landscape painter. Born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, Rodón studied in Mexico, France, and Spain. In 1953 he studied at the Julien Academy in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and later at

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. In 1955 he attended the Academy of the National Institute of Fine Arts in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He moved to New York in 1958 to study at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

, where he took drawing and composition classes under the tutelage of Howard Trafton. He was named Puerto Rico's most important 20th century painter at the Expo 92 World's Fair in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, Spain, joining the 18th century's

José Campeche José Campeche y Jordán (December 23, 1751 – November 7, 1809), is the first known Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by art critics as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas. Campeche y Jordán loved to use ...

and the 19th century's Francisco Oller. He was a professor and artist-in-residence at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. Known for his portraits of major cultural figures, such as Argentinian author

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

, Puerto Rican governor

Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...

, Cuban dancer

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is bes ...

, and Perú's Nobel laureate

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

. Rodón also painted a double portrait of Puerto Rican poet

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

as a child sitting next to her mother. The value of his works has exceeded that of other living Puerto Ricans in auctions held between 1990 and 2009. Retrato de Medea sold for $93,000 in 1990. In 2009, his most recent oil on canvas, Puedo Retornar al Crepúsculo y la Noche sold for US $302,500 at Sotheby's, the highest price paid to that date for a Puerto Rican painting. His painting of Muñoz Marín is valued at 1 million dollars. Rodon died at his home in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

on March 18, 2023, at the age of 88.Muere el desctacado pintor puertorriqueño Francisco Rodón a los 88 años

Major works

Naturaleza Muerta con Aguacate :last sold on May 30, 2007, 118x87cm oil on canvas painted in 1962 Portrait of Jimmy :last sold on November 17, 2005, 91x72cm oil on panel painted in 1961 Borges o El Aleph :last sold on June 10, 2004, 306x142cm huile/toile painted c.1975 Inés en mis Sueños :last sold on May 28, 2002, 221-165 oil on canvas painted between 1996 and 2002 Juan Rulfo o Pedro Páramo :last sold on November 23, 1999, 287x211cm oil on canvas painted between 1981 and 1983 Vendedor de Solandras :last sold on November 22, 1999, 155x203cm oil on canvas painted between 1991 and 1993 Retrato de Medea :last sold for $93,000 on May 1, 1990, 183x127cm oil on canvas painted between 1969 and 1971 Portrait of Luis Muñoz Marín :The painting is part of the Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation's permanent collection. Alicia Alonso Mario Vargas Llosa

References

External links

Francisco Rodón website on archive.org
*https://web.archive.org/web/20071020125235/http://www.allbiographies.com/biography-FranciscoRodon-55732.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013138/http://web.artprice.com/ps/artitems.aspx?view=all&idarti=NzExODMyMzg0MDU4NTct&refGenre=A&page=1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodon, Francisco 1934 births 2023 deaths Art Students League of New York alumni People from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican painters Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni University of Puerto Rico faculty