Ateneo Puertorriqueño
Francisco Rodón
Penelope (1962) by Francisco RodonAteneo Puertorriqueño
Francisco Rodón is one of the most prominent international Puerto Rican painters of the 20th century.
Valued for the original portraits of him, his work shows traits of realism and expressionism.
Some of his portrait work includes prominent figures from the arts, culture, and politics, such as the first elected governor of Puerto Rico Luis Muñoz Marín, writers Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, and Rubén Darío, and Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso.
In this painting, a woman appears sitting on a chair with her arms squared, the left over the right supporting her chin. The artist, Francisco Rodón, represents her half-length in a dynamic organization of space.
She has a black sleeveless dress and a blue headband. Rodón used neutral colors painted in areas that, in turn, form the figure, suggesting a modeling.
Penelope (1962) by Francisco RodonAteneo Puertorriqueño
The work constitutes a magnificent study of light and shadow in the particular style of the artist.
Evoking emotion through the contrast of the figure of the black woman against the blue-green background, illuminated more in the center.
Ateneo Puertorriqueño
