Unidentified artist
View of Havana, n.d.
Oil on canvas
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
Although the unidentified artist also uses the convention of figures surveying a scene from above, he or she presents a bustling port and highlights Havana’s industry. The date of this painting is unknown, but the Spanish flag flying on its extreme right alludes to Cuba’s status, up until 1898, as one of the last countries in Latin America to win independence from Spain.