* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Santos studied at Miami Dade College, where he earned his associate in arts degree in 2003. He then attended the New World School of the Arts before traveling to Florence, Italy. In 2006, he completed the “Fundamental Program in Drawing and Painting” at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, studying under Michael John Angel, who was a student of artist Pietro Annigoni.
Santos’ work reflects both classical and modern interpretations juxtaposed within one painting. His influences range from the Renaissance to the masters of the nineteenth century to Modernism. With superb technique, he infuses a harmony between the natural and the conceptual to create works that are provocative and dramatic.
Cesar explains his work by saying, “I conceive pictures that represent my deepest and most irrational perceptions. Through this I aspire to show images that transmit the impression of paintings of the past, but are imbued with contemporary, fresh concepts as well as my own personal philosophy. My artistic energy drives me to arrange elusive figures and objects in conceptual designs, yet rendering them in a believable and convincing way. I bring both worlds – theoretical and naturalistic – into communion: taking objects out of their natural context to create a new environment for them, a new reality or world for us.”
