An inventive mixed-media composition paying tribute to early 20th-century art movements by Cuban Neo-Surrealist CÉSAR LEAL JIMÉNEZ (b. 1948). A romantic couple is depicted sharing a rum at the bar. His muscular shoulders, with their hammered metal texture, push against the confines of the frame as she nestles her head in the crook of his arm, his torso draped around her like a shawl. Wisps of smoke float above, like the billowing steam from a Magritte locomotive. In oil pastel on black, semi-gloss paper stock. Meticulously framed and matted under glass; the sight dimensions: 26" × 18 ½".

CÉSAR LEAL JIMÉNEZ was born in Sagua la Grande on the north coast of central Cuba in 1948. At the age of thirteen, he was sent out on horseback to participate in the Revolution’s Literacy Campaign. In 1968, Jiménez graduated from Havana’s National School of Art (ENA) and began a long and successful career as a painter in the Social Realist tradition.

César has participated in numerous group and personal exhibitions in Cuba, South America, the US, and Europe, and his work is held in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana. He currently lives and works in Regla, Cuba, at the bottom of Havana Bay, where he teaches at his atelier, the School of Plastic Arts. Regular public showings of his students’ work are held.

I’m a social artist, so everything that happens to myself and my family, I care about it. – CÉSAR LEAL JIMÉNEZ

DETAILS

Artist – CÉSAR LEAL JIMÉNEZ (b. 1948)

Period/Year – 1989

Origin – CUBA

Styles/Movements – CUBISM; EXPRESSIONISM

Media – MIXED MEDIA

Support – PAPER

Colors – TEAL, BRICK, ROSE, WHITE

Condition – Excellent vintage condition. May show minor signs of previous ownership and use.

Dimensions – 33 ½" H × 25 ½" W × 1 ½" D