René Portocarrero

René Portocarrero (24 February 1912 – 7 April 1985) was a Cuban visual artist known for paintings, murals, ceramics, and works on paper. He is associated with Cuban modernism and the second generation of the Cuban vanguardia. His work was shown internationally, including in the landmark 1944 exhibition Modern Cuban Painters at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Some sources list his birth year as 1914 rather than 1912. He attended the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts but did not complete formal training and is frequently described as largely self-taught.

His first solo exhibition was held at the Lyceum of Havana in 1934.

In 1951 he received Cuba’s National Painting Prize for Homenaje a Trinidad, which the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes describes as a precursor to later Havana-themed landscapes.

Style and themes Museum and curatorial sources describe Portocarrero’s practice as spanning painting and works on paper, often characterized by dense ornament, vivid color, and recurring motifs linked to Havana’s architecture, interior spaces, and festive or popular imagery.

Death Portocarrero died in Havana on 7 April 1985. El País attributed his death to renal and pulmonary complications in the context of fragile health.