ContemporáneaArt20th CenturyCultura
Sculptor
Sculptor and fine arts professor born in Havana and linked to the Canary Islands, with a teaching career at the University of La Laguna.
Manuel Bethencourt Santana
Sculptor · 1931–2012
Early life
Manuel Bethencourt Santana was born in Havana on 21 June 1931. He died in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 16 January 2012. The son of Canarian emigrants in Cuba, he returned to the Canary Islands in 1948 and began his artistic training in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria before continuing his studies in Madrid.
Historical role
His career combined sculpture and teaching. After his period of training, he received the Rome Grand Prize for Sculpture in 1968 and Spain's National Sculpture Prize in 1970. From the early 1970s he joined the University of La Laguna, where he developed a long academic career in fine arts.
Legacy
Among the public works cited by journalistic and academic bibliography are Atis Tirma in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the 1797 commemorative monument in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This entry keeps him linked to Tenerife because of his death, university teaching and public presence in Santa Cruz, while retaining his training and work in Gran Canaria.
Timeline
- 1931Manuel Bethencourt Santana is born in La Habana.
- 2012Manuel Bethencourt Santana dies.
