Garafian peasant, oil on canvas, by Manuel González Méndez
Santa Cruz de la Palma isn’t exactly the centre of the art world, but we do pretty well for such a small town. The Island Museum currently holding an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of a local artist. Manuel González Méndez was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma in 1843, in Calle Virgen la Luz. By the time he died in Barcelona in 1909, he was perhaps the most important Canarian artist of all. I’m no art expert, but I thought the portraits were great.
The museum is on the old convent building beside San Francisco church, which is a lovely 16th century building, and worth a visit in itself, but that’s a topic for another post.
The museum and exhibition are open from 10 am to 8 pm Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday mornings from 10 am to 2 pm. The exhibition will be up until January 10th, 2010. And you can’t beat the price – it’s free.
Very nice information.