Born in Havana,
Emilio Rivero Merlin gained a scholarship to San
Alejandro and became one of Cuba’s finest plastic
artists. His paintings generally portrayed city life in
Havana, and strayed away from Classical styling for an
almost impressionistic feel. Merlin would eventually
travel to Spain to study at the School of Fine Arts in
San Fernando, where he ended up settling.
Though Merlin was known for his pictorial landscapes,
Merlin was also a sculptor. Today, Merlin may be one of
the most forgotten of the great Cuban artists. While art
students and contemporary artists in Cuba may be
familiar with his work, he is generally not known
worldwide. |
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Among his many
accomplishments, it is said that Merlin was the first
black student to graduate from an art school. He was
also a director of sorts, and helped to produce a film
made in Morocco in 1923, which would later be shown in
Havana. Merlin also returned to San Alejandro as so many
artists did to serve as a professor.
Today, Merlin's work is housed all over Cuba, and
especially in the gallery which bears his name in
Havana. He has studied, traveled and exhibited literally
all over the world to the United States, Mexico, Africa,
Argentina, Granada, Italy and Spain. His extensive
travels combined with his generally unknown status make
the possibility for some of his unknown or
unauthenticated work to surface great.
Merlin's works were colorful and even though he is not a
household name, his paintings are highly respected in
the Cuban art world. His portraits equaled that of any
European artist, and were perhaps some of his best
works.
Do you think that you may own a piece of art by Emilio
Rivero Merlin? We would be happy to assist you in an
authentication by this great Cuban artist. |
