Source: National Archives & Historic Records of Cuba
Art
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Historical Archive
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Víctor Manuel García Valdés
Víctor Manuel García Valdés
(Known as "Víctor Manuel")
Pioneering Modernist Painter, Creator of 'La Gitana Tropical'
Born
1897-10-22
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
Passed Away
1969-02-01
Havana, Cuba
Lifespan
71 years old
"Our painting needed to breathe the warm light and mixed blood of our people, without imported salon formulas."
Archival Overview
Foundational modernist painter who introduced European avant-garde aesthetics to Cuba and created the iconic 1929 painting 'La Gitana Tropical' (The Tropical Gypsy), hailed as Cuba's Mona Lisa.
Biographical Record
Víctor Manuel García Valdés was born in Havana on October 22, 1897. After studying at the San Alejandro Academy, he traveled to Paris in 1925, absorbing the post-impressionist simplifications of Paul Gauguin and Amedeo Modigliani.
Returning to Havana, he broke with rigid academicism, using flowing dark outlines, simplified earthen planes, and melancholy almond eyes to portray Cuban mestizo beauty. His 1929 masterpiece La Gitana Tropical became the undisputed visual archetype of 20th-century Cuban identity.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual Memorial
Colón Cemetery (Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón)
Havana, Cuba
Havana, Cuba
GPS: 23.1230, -82.4010
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