René Portocarrero (born

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 24 February 1912; died Havana, 7 April 1985) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n artist recognised internationally for his achievements.

History

Portocarrero began his artistic education at the San Alejandro academy, but left early and is hence considered 'self taught'.Biography at www.soycubano.com
/ref> 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 Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

.Biography at www.cubaliteraria.cu
After travels in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

he gave his first show to an overseas audience at

Julien Levy Julien Levy (1906–1981) was an art dealer and owner of Julien Levy Gallery in New York City, important as a venue for Surrealists, avant-garde artists, and American photographers in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Levy was born in New York. Aft ...

's gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1945.Biography at www.alocubano.com
/ref> In 1950, he worked with

Wifredo Lam Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in conta ...

, Mariano, Martinez Pedro and

Amelia Peláez Amelia Peláez del Casal (5 January 1896 – 8 April 1968) was an important Cuban painter of the Avant-garde generation. Biography Amelia Peláez was born in 1896 in Yaguajay, in the former Cuban province of Las Villas (now Sancti Spíritus Pro ...

in the village of Santiago de las Vegas. In 1961, he had meetings with

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

in the José Martí National Library, where they discussed culture. René received lessons in painting from

Nicolás Guillén Landrián Nicolás Guillén Landrián (1938 in Camagüey, Cuba - July 23, 2003 in Miami, Florida) was a Cuban experimental filmmaker and painter. Guillén was an accomplished filmmaker. He made a total of 13 documentaries, although they were heavily censor ...

. In 1977 he worked for the Japan Women's Association. In 1979, he worked for UNESCO and AIAP. He knew

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...

.Felix: Fakten über Meister Rene Portocarrero
In the 1980s, he taught Victor Miquel Moreno Piñeiro (Victor Moreno), cousin of

Servando Cabrera Moreno Servando Cabrera Moreno (1923–1981) was a Cuban painter. A supporter of the Cuban Revolution, he created many paintings that depict the Cuban peasantry. Stylistically, his paintings are rooted in the tradition of vanguardia, and are especial ...

Artworks

As well as a painter and sculptor, Portocarrero worked as a

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

er and book illustrator, publishing his own ''Las Máscaras'' (The Masks) in 1935 and ''El Sueño'' (The Dream) in 1939. He was also a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

ist, producing public artworks for the Havana Prison, a church in

Bauta, Cuba Bauta is a municipality and town located southwest of Havana City, in the Artemisa Province of Cuba since 2010 as a result of the division of what was the Province of Havana (Havana Countryside). Geography Part of the Havana metropolitan area ...

, 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 São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

and Rio de Janeiro), Canada ( National Gallery, Ottawa), France ( Modern Arts, Paris), Peru (Instituto de Arte Contemporaneo,

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

), the United States (Museums of Modern Art,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

;

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Art Center; Union Panamericana, Washington;

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

; Art Museum,

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

), Uruguay (Bellas Artes,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

) and Venezuela (Bellas Artes,

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

), as well as his native Cuba ( Museo Nacional, Havana).

Awards

In his lifetime he won 'best collection' at the seventh

São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...

(1963), was honoured by the governments of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and given a seat on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's International Association of Fine Art. Five of his paintings can be viewed online a
www.vanguardiacubana.com
In 1981 he received the 'Felix Varela' prize from Cuba and in 1982 he received the 'Aztec Eagle',

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's highest award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portocarrero, Rene 1912 births 1985 deaths Cuban illustrators Cuban ceramists 20th-century Cuban sculptors 20th-century Cuban painters 20th-century Cuban male artists 20th-century ceramists Male painters