Lot 83: Rainforest above Santiago de Cuba

Henry Cleenewerck (1818-1901)
Rainforest above Santiago de Cuba
signed and dated 'Henry Cleenewerck. Paris. 1869' (lower left), signed and inscribed 'Ce tableau est une étude d'après nature dans les hautes régions de Santiago-de-Cuba par moi -- Henry Cleenewerck' on the reverse
oil on canvas
36½ x 26¾in. (92.7 x 67.9cm.)

A native of Watou, Belgium, Cleenewerck travelled to the United States in 1854 and was in Cuba for around five years in the 1860s, returning to Europe in 1868 and establishing his studio in Paris, where he continued to produce Cuban landscapes inspired by his recent Cuban sojourn.