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Disregarded as a
painter of Cuban themes, brought up in a poor family and
otherwise forgotten by critics during his lifetime,
Angel Acosta Leon led a tragic life.
Studying at San Alejandro in his youth, Acosta created
art for only nine years, five of which were after he
matured as a painter. His earliest paintings were oils
of the sea and harbor and of tree lined parks. He is
generally not well-known for these early works, so there
is an excellent chance of one of these paintings
surfacing somewhere.
From the very beginning, Acosta struggled as a painter.
His family was poor, and did not understand his need to
paint. He often lived in cramped situations, and not
until he was much older could he afford to move out of
his family's house and into a room at a Havana mansion.
This familial alienation would become an underlying
current in his works.
Acosta had many themes in his work, another of which was
sickness and death. He often painted syringes and
crosses along with faces in his art. Some people say
crosses were a sign that he had syphilis, therefore
making these very powerful statements. A great example
of his inclusion of crosses is “Rostros y Cruces”
(1959), which translates into “Faces and Crosses.” Take
notice of how the smaller crosses appear to almost look
like syringes. |
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Interestingly, from
1958-1959, Acosta painted an extensive series of
self-portraits, much in the same way that Frida Kahlo
and Vincent Van Gogh did. To this day, Acosta has
painted more self-portraits than any other Cuban
painter.
Throughout the many struggles in his life, Acosta was
never able to fully support himself with his art alone.
To make ends meet he became a tinsmith, a welder and a
conductor at a bus station. This work made a heavy
impact on his art, and he began to incorporate metallics
in his compositions. He also used machinery intertwined
with organic elements. During his lifetime, Acosta also
created pottery. Toward the end of his life, he began to
paint more abstractly and infused Cubist ideas into his
work.
Acosta won a number of awards and exhibited his work all
over Cuba and Europe, but his critics failed to see the
true potential of his work. He was not typically seen as
a part of the Vanguard movement, and was lost among
other more famous painters of the time such as Lam. In
truth, he is just as much a part of the Vanguards as
anyone else. His use of machinery in place of organic
elements echoed the political unrest of the country at
the time and was truly a social statement.
On a trip back to Cuba from Paris, Acosta attempted
suicide a number of times, and finally succeeded by
throwing himself into the sea. He left behind him a
large oeuvre, which is now housed all over the world.
We research, appraise, authenticate and issue
certificates of authenticity for works by Angel Acosta
Leon. |
