José Rodeiro CAVE PAINTING, oil-on-linen, 7’ x 11,’ 1987 (Collection of the artist).

Using a section of Gaudi’s Parc Guell that resembles a rock-shelter (or a tsunami of rocks) as a back-drop, Rodeiro created an image that simultaneously and with total Amnesis disregard for chronological order merges three supreme moments in Christian history: 1). The Temptation in the Garden of Eden, which lost mankind paradise. 2). The Annunciation that provided a means for humanity’s reattainment or regaining of Paradise, and 3). The Crucifixion of Christ, which guaranteed human salvation. In Rodeiro’s Cave Painting, all three events occur simultaneously, symbolically mirroring each other. Of course, the most significant Christian event, the Resurrection of Christ is missing, because the focus is on human immortality: the loss of our spiritual immortality, the hope of regaining immortality, and the attainment of it. In this image, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel murals iconologically unite with Gaudi’s Guell Park subject matter: The Stations of the Cross. Hence, Rodeiro’s Cave Painting represents three (3) grand manner paintings in one.