National Museum of Fine Arts Commemorates the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Arístides Fernández

The National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana marked the noteworthy event of July: the 120th anniversary of the birth of painter Arístides Fernández (Güines, 1904 – Havana, 1934), on July 20. Fernández quickly became associated with innovative artists who opposed academicism and contributed to the early modern expressions of Cuban visual arts.

It is said that the essential creative concerns of the author of El batey—rural life, peasants, and social themes—place him within the coordinates of «new art.» However, the intensity and austerity with which he approached these topics set him apart from the superficiality found in the approaches to these issues by some contemporary painters.

Arístides Fernández’s name was absent from the first personal and collective exhibitions of those creators. Furthermore, the artist’s premature death left his limited body of work incomplete. This contributed to the insufficient appreciation of his work by his contemporaries. His revaluation occurred posthumously, initiated by José Lezama Lima with an essay published in 1935.

Source: National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez

Work: Arístides Fernández El batey (detail) Oil on canvas; 60.5 x 53 cm.