El Último Centauro - VIGILIA DORADA

GOLDEN VIGIL

Portrait of a dark horse in profile, its head turned to the left and its ears pricked and alert. The image conveys watchful stillness: its gaze, a deep, moist brown, seems fixed on something beyond the frame. The coat is rendered with cool, grayish highlights over an almost-black base, while a fine edge of warm light traces the mane, neck, and outline of the muzzle, as if the animal were backlit.

Behind the head, a large oval of imitation gold leaf opens out, its crumpled, shimmering surface framing the horse like a halo or a window of light. At the lower left, the gold blends into a warm reddish veil that suggests the glow of sunset. The background is deep black, and silhouettes of branches and leaves are outlined along the bottom, placing the scene in a nocturnal landscape. The result is an intense contrast between the darkness of the setting, the metallic gleam of the oval, and the naturalism of the animal. The imitation metal leaf adds shine and texture without using real gold.

The piece belongs to El Último Centauro’s “Bestiary” series, devoted to portraits of horses, bulls, and other creatures, with a focus on their presence and symbolic weight.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
- Artist: Luis González Rodríguez (El Último Centauro)
- Medium: oil and imitation gold leaf on canvas
- Dimensions: 60 x 40 cm (height x width)
- Year: 2026
- Signature: signed in the lower right corner with the initials “UC” (the initials of the artistic heteronym El Último Centauro) and dated “26”
- Original, one-of-a-kind work, made entirely by hand
- Certificate of authenticity included
- Shipped in a professional rigid tube, unstretched

ABOUT THE ARTIST
El Último Centauro is the artistic heteronym of Luis González Rodríguez, under which he develops a body of work focused on the animal figure, expressive realism, and symbolism. He trained as a graduate in Fine Arts at the Professional Academy of Fine Arts of Las Tunas (2008–2012) and earned a degree in Visual Arts from the University of the Arts of Cuba, ISA (2013–2018). He was a designer and photographer at ISA (2018–2022) and a design instructor in its Faculty of Restoration (2018–2019). He has been a member of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz since 2015 and UNEAC since 2022.

His notable solo exhibitions include “The Last Ashes” (UNEAC, Las Tunas, 2025), “Instincts” (Las Tunas, 2023), “Dimensions of Presence” (AHS, 2022), “Trance” (AHS, 2020), and “The Grand Salon” (Escena Estudio, Havana, 2018). He has participated in group exhibitions such as “After Dark, the Party Begins” (AHS, 2025), “State of Spirit” (Pabellón Cuba, Havana, 2022), “Painting Warning” (ISA, as part of the 13th Havana Biennial, 2019), the 7th Cuban Contemporary Art Salon (Old Havana, 2017), and “Misen en scene” (ISA, as part of the 12th Havana Biennial, 2015).