Mariano Rodríguez rooster sketches

Rodríguez, Mariano, Cuban painter (1912-1990). Original ink sketches and pochoir print, signed.

€ 2,800.00

The iconic Rodríguez rooster, sketched in ink. Rodríguez began to paint roosters in 1941, and over the course of his career the rooster became a symbol of Cubanness as well as a way to explore new ranges of colour and shape; he retained the theme even through his abstract cubism phase. The sketches are each studies signed simply "M.", two of which include notes in Rodríguez's hand deciding on the colours to be used in later iterations. The pochoir print illustrates this exploration of colour and the influence of Mexican art on his work in its use of bright red, blue, black, and yellow ochre.

Three of the studies are on stationery from the Casa de las Americas and all are tucked into a contemporary envelope with the Camara de Comercio de la Republica de Cuba letterhead, marking them as true originals. Casa de las Americas was an institution founded just after the Cuban Revolution for the promotion of the arts in wider Latin America. The first president of Casa de las Americas was female revolutionary guerilla fighter Haydée Santamaría; the second was Mariano Rodríguez himself.

Light foxing, a few minor stains, otherwise in good condition.