‘Juan Maldonado: Da Vinci’s Disciple’ on display in Marvin Library

Emma Hall
Staff Writer

Have you been in the Marvin Library recently? Next time you go, check out the “Juan Maldonado: Da Vinci’s Disciple” serigraph exhibit near the cafe, on display until March 2.

Juan Maldonado was born in Puerto Rico in 1941. As an adult, he served in the U.S. Armed Forces and later traveled to Europe to study art and attend Italy’s University of Perugia. Maldonado’s favorite artist was Leonardo Da Vinci, and while in Europe he took note of Da Vinci’s style, which would later influence his own work.

Throughout his life, which ended in December 2016, due to cancer, the New York City-based Puerto Rican was involved in many art-related outings. Maldonado once mentored young artists at the Bronx Museum of Art. He was also a popular portraitist, having drawn or painted many people, including 140 influential Latinos for yearly calendars put out by the Miller Brewing Corporation. His work is now spread out in private collections around the world.

Laudelina Martinez, an English professor at Hudson Valley who provided much of the information for this article and was responsible for the exhibit coming to campus, spoke of how Maldonado’s work makes her feel.

“I find Maldonado’s work compelling in an intellectual and aesthetic sense,” Martinez said. “I discover new things each time I examine one of his serigraphs, which is what we are showing at the college.”

Martinez’s art gallery, the Martinez Gallery located in Troy, has been working to bring art like Maldonado’s to our area, and she is pleased she can help increase recognition for the Puerto Rican.

“As a Latino artist, [Maldonado] brings different elements to the visual arts that are not often appreciated because Latino artists are not as exposed to the general public as others are,” she said.

Freshman and Business Administration major Meredith Youngmann said she found the exhibit to be “eye-catching because of the dark colors and moody feel portrayed in many of the pieces.” Her favorite of the nine framed serigraphs on display was “Susanna and the Elder,” which she said she found intriguing because “It made her wonder who Susanna was and what her relationship with this elder figure was.” Youngmann also noted that she “loved the way the Maldonado depicted the light shining on Susanna’s smooth cheek and the Elder’s wrinkled brow.”

Professor Martinez hopes the artist, who is aptly called “Da Vinci’s Disciple” in the exhibit, will be an inspiration for the students of the college.

“I thought [students] would enjoy how good [Maldonado’s] work is and would like having an artist of Puerto Rican background in their midst. I hoped when students learned about Maldonado’s working class roots and how he overcame barriers to succeed, they would gain a sense of encouragement about their own efforts to become educated and realize their aspirations,” Martinez stated.

So, next time you’re in Marvin Library or have a few minutes between classes, why not stop by the atrium and take a look at these works of art? You might find meaning between the lines of ink on silk, just as professor Martinez and Youngmann did.

“Juan Maldonado: Da Vinci’s Disciple” is on display until March 2, courtesy of the Juan Maldonado Estate and the Martinez Gallery in Troy.