Artist
René Peña GonzálezCuban, born 1957
CultureCuban
Titles
- from the series Ritos II
- from the series Rites II
Date1995
PlaceCuba
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 17 15/16 × 11 15/16 in. (45.6 × 30.3 cm)
Sheet: 19 13/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.3 × 40.5 cm)
Sheet: 19 13/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.3 × 40.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Clinton T. Willour in honor of Jake and Betty Mooney
Object number98.90
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
Since the early 1990s, René Peña has used the nude male body,
often his own, to address issues of sexuality, machismo, spirituality, and his
role as an Afro-Cuban man in society. The simply composed close-ups of his Rites series translate rituals and icons
into a personal, erotic system of meaning. Animal motifs imitate religious
sacrifices as they speak to a time in Cuba when the private breeding of small
animals was legalized to counter the island’s food crisis.
Provenance[FotoFest International, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1998.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso bottom left in pencil " De la senè Ritos II 194 P/A "
bottom right below signature " Rene Pena Gonzales "
bottom right below signature " Rene Pena Gonzales "
verso bottom right in pencil " René Peña "
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Soqween or So-Kwa-Wi (José Encarnacion Peña)
1918–1922
Gouache over graphite on wove paper
44.343
Quah Ah (Tonita Peña)
1930–1939
Tempera over pencil under drawing on paper board
44.286
Luis González Palma
c. 1992
Gelatin silver print with toning and mixed media on artist's mount
96.1728