Havana: From one continent to another, from Spain to Cuba, from the Prado Museum to the Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition of the late self-portrait canvas by Francisco de Goya makes today a moment dreamed by painting lovers, Prensa Latina publishes.

The piece arrived in the Caribbean nation on the occasion of the official visit of King Felipe VI and his wife, Letizia, for the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Village of San Cristóbal de La Habana.

With the presence this Thursday of their majesties in the transitory hall of the Universal Art Building of the cultural institution, the public has the possibility to admire the work - created in 1815 -, whose exhibition will be opened to those interested for a month.

In the self-portrait, considered as a jewel of the Prado Museum, predominates the violent strokes and the use of chiaroscuro, according to Jorge Fernández, director of the Cuban entity, who highlighted the influence of the Spanish artist in the development of education in the Greater of the Antilles.  

The canvas shows a half-length image in which the artist wears a dark red velvet robe, similar to those used by several painters in his self-portraits, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

“In this picture we can appreciate the classic qualities of Goya's work and that force that opens the way to romanticism, of a very strong psychology and very free strokes”, the curator Manuel Crespo said.

Fernández said the exhibition is the result of a talk with the Spanish ambassador to Cuba and several conversations with representatives of Prado, one of the most recognized cultural institutions in Europe, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.

Artistic education in the European nation served as a reference to Havana, so this opportunity is a luxury for critics, students, teachers and the general public to approach a work that they will surely learn a lot, Fernández said.

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