The images and information presented below are for the instruction of students and scholarly research.
Armando Menocal
(1863-1942)
Born into a wealthy and elite Havana
family, Armando Menocal was able to leave Cuba at the
age of 17 to study art. For 10 years he studied
Classical Spanish-style art under masters like Sorolla
while living abroad in Spain. He later returned to Cuba
to fight in the liberators army, and became one of
Cuba’s greatest artists of the colonial period.
Menocal has been credited by some as being THE leading
artist in the Vanguard movement. He was one of, if not
the first to begin incorporating Cuban themes and
history into his paintings. In a time when Cuban
painters were trying to appeal to Western tastes,
Menocal was painting national symbols and myths.
His national paintings were almost epic in nature, and
embodied the theme of Cuba’s war for independence. He
would paint scenes of war, in which native slaves would
fight for freedom, as well as the deaths of famous
generals. One of his more famous paintings depicts
Christopher Columbus in chains on his journey back to
Spain.
Known best as a landscaper, Menocal also produced
beautiful, exquisite and realistic portraits of
well-known public figures of the time. For example,
Menocal painted this very European-styled portrait
“Mujer Con Blusa Rosada” (1910).
Mujer Con Blusa Rosada
His portraits were
practically photo-realistic and utilized dark
backgrounds in the Classical style.
Menocal came to teach landscape painting at the San
Alejandro art school in Cuba, and eventually became the
principal of the school. He taught and influenced many
Cuban painters during his tenure at San Alejandro. His
landscapes are unlike that of most in Cuba, taking on an
almost Impressionistic hand and color palate. While most
of his contemporaries where painting in Caribbean
colors, with rolling, dreamy landscapes, his were done
in the same “plein-air” and soft lighting style as the
Europeans—however, instead of windy oak trees, he
painted the Cuban palm tree and brush landscaping.
Campo Adentro
Surprisingly, this
accomplished painter and scholar was also an illustrator
for magazine giant Condé Nast. He was known to paint and
sketch illustrations for one of their magazines on paper
in either ink or gouache and watercolor. He would then
sign and stamp the back of each of these illustrations.
To have the originals for his commissioned work for
Condé Nast would be a priceless find indeed.
While in studying in Spain, some of Menocal's paintings
were uncharacteristic of the work he became known for.
Whimsical yet Realist paintings of Spanish castles and
aristocrats for example were a theme in his work at this
time. These paintings would have been done in the
earlier half of the 1890’s towards the turn of the
century, and would have been painted in Spain. How many
unknown works by this great Cuban artist exists today?
As a student, surely he would have produced a lot of
work, and most definitely sold some locally in Spain.
Along with his many talents, Menocal was also a
muralist. He created some of the best known murals in
Havana at their city hall, as well as in the University
of Havana. He was also known to embellish the interiors
of the homes of Cuban elite with decorative painting.
Could he have done similar work in Spanish homes?
Though his works are not as easily available to the
public worldwide in museums and private collections,
Menocal was among one of the most prolific painters of
his time. A teacher and an artists with a wide range, he
was also an innovator in national painting. Currently,
some of his art is housed at the Fine Art
Museum in Key West, as well as extensively throughout
Cuba.
