When looking at “The Three Graces,” by Cesar Santos one can immediately see that there are several things happening at once. It’s the kind of painting that makes you stop and consider the implications of what you’re seeing, not to mention the inspiration for the work.
“I imagined this gallery room with a painting by Rothko next to Francisco Goya’s painting, ‘The Third of May, 1808.’” Santos says. “As the three graces appeared to vandalize the modernist ‘masterpiece,’ the soldiers of Goya are ready to execute, aiming at the muses.
“This got me thinking, if they shoot from that angle and sacrifice these beauties and stop this madness the painting will be destroyed as a consequence. My syncretism is to play with the opposite forces of art history to create a unified new result.”
Cesar Santos is well known for creating portraits that “reflect his passion for the unnoticeable, yet irreplaceable, people of his community.” He is also a Streamline Video artist (preview his Secrets of Portrait Painting below).
See more of his fine art paintings at www.santocesar.com.
This article was first published in 2018
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