Juan del Río (Cuba, final third of the 18th century) ‘Portrait of a Gentleman’ Oil on canvas. Signed with 'Rio lo pinto en la Havana en 18015 [1815]' (Rio painted it in Havana in 1815). 95 x 68,5 cm. There are three patches on the back. The sitter holds a missive addressed to ‘Ala. Sra. Da Francisca Perez in Santander’ in his hand.   As we read in the small illustrative publication, dedicated to Juan del Río, published in 1958 by the Palace of Fine Arts of Cuba, Juan del Río was a renowned and outstanding colonial painter who, despite having a different style in his work, is believed to have been a disciple of Vicente Escobar.   ‘The first recognised paintings by the artist date from the last decade of the 18th century. His masterpiece is perhaps the marvellous and eloquent portrait of Luis Ignacio Caballero, which is proof of his knowledge of Spanish painting in this genre. He also collaborated with Báez, an outstanding engraver. A print of the Virgin of Covadonga, drawn by him and engraved by Báez, is kept in the collection at the National Museum’. Likewise, in Opus Habana, we read that: ‘Juan del Río (1748-18...?), painter of religious subjects and portraitist, is one of the few known painters from our colonial history and immortalised captains general, aldermen, mayors and nobles’.   Through his effort, dedication and vocation as a painter, Juan de los Ríos became a renowned artist who left a legacy of a large number of important artworks, including stage sets for theatre, drawings and oil paintings.   The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba has the aforementioned painting of Don Luis Ignacio Caballero (perpetual alderman of Havana) as well as one of Our Lady of Mercedes. The inscription ‘Juan del Río painted it’, which del Río placed at the foot of his artworks, gives further value to the collection, which is appreciated as being part of the history of Latin American art.   Reference bibliography; - Opus Habana. Volumen II, nº 3 1998. Pág. 62 – 63 http://www.opushabana.cu/index.php/articulos/36-articulos-casa-de-papel/325-  -  (2001). Https://www.bellasartes.co.cu/sites/default/files/public/publicaciones/patronato_1958.pdf (currently known as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba) in which Juan del Río's painting of our Lady of Mercedes is discussed.