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Lot Essay
This work is sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by Dolores and Alejandro Rodríguez; to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist.
"Two birds were brought in, and having been weighed, their owners carried them around bantering the spectators for bets, and occasionally permitting them to peck at each other. The sight of them, with the suddenness of an electric shock, seemed to rouse the crowd's latent passion and the place was immediately filled with tumultuous voices... They commenced fighting as soon as they were placed on the ground. Not a sound was heard, just the fluttering of the birds' wings...The victor exulted in loud crowing over the dead bird, but was not permitted long to enjoy his triumph. The owner, his mouth filled with aguardiente, squirted the stinging fluid into his eyes, throat, and on all his wounds"
These fragments are part of the book Notes on Cuba, written by the American doctor John G. Wurdemann in the middle of the 19th century. They describe in precise detail and in a naturalistic fashion, a cockfight, one of Mariano's themes based on this beautiful animal. It is interesting to note that although the artist was not an admirer and much less a champion of this cruel spectacle, he nevertheless was recurrently drawn to its brutal beauty in his work between 1942 and 1987 as one of the variants of the fighting cock theme.
The piece Cockfight, (Pelea de gallos) executed in 1945, contrasts notably with another piece from 1942, with the same title: in the latter, the fight is just beginning, and more than a real fight, it shows the initial threats before the battle. It seems evident that, in this case, Mariano preferred to show the beauty of the two animals, rather than portraying the violence of combat. In the composition created three years earlier, the fight is finished, the winning cock is standing over the vanquished one, announcing to all, as it were, his unquestionable victory.
Regardless of the opinion we may have about the celebration of these fights, we cannot deny that this is Mariano's most significant work on the theme. Employing only three key elements--the fence and two cocks--he devised an unique composition where the real protagonist is neither one of the contenders, but rather color. It was Mariano's use of color that characterized his work throughout his entire life and that is exulted in this composition.
José Veigas Zamora, 2006
"Two birds were brought in, and having been weighed, their owners carried them around bantering the spectators for bets, and occasionally permitting them to peck at each other. The sight of them, with the suddenness of an electric shock, seemed to rouse the crowd's latent passion and the place was immediately filled with tumultuous voices... They commenced fighting as soon as they were placed on the ground. Not a sound was heard, just the fluttering of the birds' wings...The victor exulted in loud crowing over the dead bird, but was not permitted long to enjoy his triumph. The owner, his mouth filled with aguardiente, squirted the stinging fluid into his eyes, throat, and on all his wounds"
These fragments are part of the book Notes on Cuba, written by the American doctor John G. Wurdemann in the middle of the 19th century. They describe in precise detail and in a naturalistic fashion, a cockfight, one of Mariano's themes based on this beautiful animal. It is interesting to note that although the artist was not an admirer and much less a champion of this cruel spectacle, he nevertheless was recurrently drawn to its brutal beauty in his work between 1942 and 1987 as one of the variants of the fighting cock theme.
The piece Cockfight, (Pelea de gallos) executed in 1945, contrasts notably with another piece from 1942, with the same title: in the latter, the fight is just beginning, and more than a real fight, it shows the initial threats before the battle. It seems evident that, in this case, Mariano preferred to show the beauty of the two animals, rather than portraying the violence of combat. In the composition created three years earlier, the fight is finished, the winning cock is standing over the vanquished one, announcing to all, as it were, his unquestionable victory.
Regardless of the opinion we may have about the celebration of these fights, we cannot deny that this is Mariano's most significant work on the theme. Employing only three key elements--the fence and two cocks--he devised an unique composition where the real protagonist is neither one of the contenders, but rather color. It was Mariano's use of color that characterized his work throughout his entire life and that is exulted in this composition.
José Veigas Zamora, 2006