Cuban School (XX) - Thoughtful mulatto by the river

FIGURE BY the WATER

F. Benítez
Contemporary Cuban School, 21st Century

Technique: oil on canvas.
Author: F. Benítez.
Chronology: dated 2013.
School: contemporary Cuban school.
Support: canvas.
Dimensions of the work: 34 x 25 cm.
Overall dimensions with frame: 42 x 33 cm.
Signature: signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Subject: landscape with a male figure seen from behind beside a water area.

Condition: good overall, with slight signs typical of handling and the passage of time visible in the photographs.

Presentation: the work is presented in a decorative gold frame, included as a gift. The frame is provided as an aesthetic presentation complement, with no claims accepted regarding its condition.

-- The work will be professionally packaged to measure and shipped insured to any international destination.

-- We work with a specialized logistics center, with preparation and distribution approximately within 3 days once payment is confirmed.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE WORK

1.1. Authorship and dating

Oil on canvas signed by F. Benítez and dated 2013, belonging to the contemporary Cuban school.

The work depicts a male figure with his back turned, located before a stretch of water, in a silent and contemplative pose. The composition combines landscape, human figure, and emotional atmosphere, building an image with strong poetic charge.

1.2. Measurements and presentation

The work measures 34 x 25 cm, with overall dimensions of 42 x 33 cm including the frame.

It is presented in an ornate gold frame that enhances the contrast between the scene’s sobriety and the decorative warmth of the ensemble. The frame is included as an added gift.

ARTISTIC DESCRIPTION

2.1. Composition

The scene centers on a male figure seen from behind, placed in the foreground and looking toward the water.

The figure’s posture, with hands resting on the hips, conveys stillness, observation, and a certain introspection. In front of him, the landscape opens to a sheet of water, vegetation, and white architecture in the background, creating a serene and balanced depth.

2.2. Color and atmosphere

The palette blends deep greens, soft aquatic tones, bright whites, and warm flesh tones.

The contrast between the dark body of the figure, the white trousers, and the vegetation creates a highly visual, direct image that is also filled with calm. The light seems to envelop the scene with a sensitivity typical of Atlantic and Caribbean landscapes, where humidity, green, and water build a suspended atmosphere.

STYLE, SCHOOL AND CONTEXT

3.1. Contemporary Cuban school

The work can be placed within a contemporary Cuban sensibility, where the landscape is not only a geographic description but an emotional space.

The treatment of the back-view figure recalls certain European Romantic traditions, especially the idea of the character contemplating the landscape, though reinterpreted from a warmer, everyday, and Atlantic gaze.

3.2. Landscape evocation

The painting fuses elements of landscape, memory, and human presence.

It is not a simple view of nature, but an intimate, almost narrative scene. The viewer stands behind the character, sharing the same point of view, as if also participating in that moment of silence before the water.

CONDITION

4.1. General state

The work shows good overall conservation.

There are slight signs of age, handling, or exposure, visible in the photographs. The pictorial surface properly preserves the reading of the scene, the signature, and color intensity.

4.2. Frame

The frame is provided as an added gift to the work.

Its function is mainly decorative and for presentation. No claims will be accepted regarding the frame’s condition, as it is considered a free complement included with the piece.

GUARANTEE, TRANSPARENCY AND SHIPMENT

5.1. Prudent cataloging

The work is cataloged according to visible and available information: oil on canvas signed F. Benítez, dated 2013, contemporary Cuban school.

The photographs are an essential part of the description and allow evaluation of both the work and its conservation status.

5.2. Professional shipping

The work will be professionally packaged to measure and shipped insured.

We work with a specialized logistics center, with preparation and distribution approximately within 3 days once payment is confirmed.

5.3. Conditions

Any potential surcharges for island destinations, remote areas, high-rate European zones or non-EU shipments will be the buyer’s responsibility.
The frame, when included, is considered an added gift, with no possibility of claim regarding its condition.

CONTEMPLATION

6.1. Silence before the landscape

This work possesses a quiet beauty.

The figure with the back to the viewer does not look at us, but toward the horizon. This choice makes the painting an open scene: we do not know what he thinks, remembers, or awaits. That is precisely where part of its strength lies.

Water, trees, white architecture, and the body’s posture build a suspended image, almost cinematic, where time seems to have paused for a few seconds.

6.2. An image of presence and memory

The painting invites slow, calm looking.

There is in it a blend of landscape, solitude, warmth, and contemplation. A simple scene, but charged with presence. A small-format work, yet with a wide, luminous, and silent atmosphere.