Manuel, Víctor

(full name Víctor Manuel García). Born 1897 in Havana. Cuban painter.

Manuel studied at the San Alejandro Academy of Arts in Havana. Influenced by P. Gauguin and fauvism, he painted landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits. A search for national elements characterizes his work. Manuel imparted a pensive, dreamlike quality to his figures and landscapes and used decorative, reduced, and somewhat geometric forms. Examples of his paintings are City Landscape (1924, National Museum, Havana), A Gypsy of the Tropics (1929, National Museum, Havana), and Portrait of M. J. Rodríguez (1959, collection of M. J. Rodríguez, Havana).