The Historian Dr. Ariane Galy’s Essay About Cristina Rodriguez’s Painting "El Último Atardecer del Alcatraz"

On his last night on earth, the handsome Pelican stands alone under the setting sun as the stars and the moon already look on. In the sea, the fish awaits. Perhaps it has resigned itself to being the last, savoured meal, or perhaps it has come to say goodbye to its lifelong adversary. In this beautiful and moving painting I see the circle of life: the dignity of both the predator and the prey are palpable, a momentary pause to consider their shared existence on earth, and the inevitability of death after life.