I started this thread on the inspiration of another... didn’t want to hijack the subject.
http://www.mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4077Welcome to the “Rumba Art Gallery”
Although titled “Rumba Art Gallery”, it is not limited to works inspired only by rumba; it will feature works of art inspired by any percussive / rhythmic music tradition.
In order to be respectful of the artist /creator of the works displayed, it would be helpful to
1) Identify the artist and/or
2) If you are posting an image file, perhaps a link to where that image was captured…where perhaps the original artwork could be purchased.
Feel free to add to the art gallery.
So here is my first and all time favorite image depicting the essence of rumba.
I saw this image in a book I am reading
“Nationalizing Blackness – Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana 1920-1940”.
The oil painting, titled
“La Mulata” from the 1920’s is by
Jaime Valls. http://www.ryc.cult.cu/105ramon.htm in Spanish, describes his life and work.
What do I like about this painting?
The bold primary colors, the syncopated balance of the standing woman and the seated dancers, the sense of movement in the fluid portrayal of the Mulata’s lithe body, the prominent vacauno, the look of absolute total ecstatic enjoyment on her face, contrasted with the soul-fulness of the clave players, and the intensity of the guitarist.
If a picture is worth a thousand words…and if words do not suffice to describe the essence of music….somehow this portrayal has succeeded (in my opinion) in portraying what words cannot describe…the essence of Rumba!