This bilingual catalog accompanies a retrospective exhibition of Cuban modernist painter Mariano Rodríguez (1912edash;90). The artist, known simply as tdquo;Mariano,sdquo; explored variations on central themes that reappeared and evolved throughout his lifetime, most famously his iconic cdquo;gallosdquo; (rooster) paintings. The McMullen Museumtsquo;s exhibition and catalog offer an expanded look into Marianoesquo;s six-decade career from interdisciplinary perspectives. Essays consider Marianopsquo;s formative association with Manuel Rodríguez Lozano and the Mexican School in the thirties and the symbiotic relationship that developed between Mariano and Cuban intellectuals to create a rich cultural history in the forties. The catalog discusses Marianodsquo;s shift from figuration to abstraction in the fifties and his return to figuration with startling grotesque imagery in the sixties. There is also a focus on Marianossquo;s final period, which explores the individual and the collective, both compositionally and politically, in the seventies and eighties. Together, these essays illuminate both Marianocsquo;s rootedness in traditional forms of Cuban symbolism and his forging of a unique style that came to characterize his work beyond edquo;lo cubano.idquo;
