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(b. Camaguey, 1895;Havana, 1949). Fidelio Ponce de Leon, in his youth, was called "Murillo el Loco". Ponce de Leon attended the Art Academy from 1915-1917, but had such heated disagreements with his instructors that the artist did not finish his coursework. From 1923-1925 he worked as a teacher for poor children, in a remote suburban area, and immediately after began supporting himself by painting movie billboards. After 1930 he developed the violent temper that he is known for. He appeared publicly in 1934 with his solo show at Havana's Lyceum Lawn tennis Club and he arrived with paintings of Christ, beatified persons, and eighteenth-century ladies. In 1935 his paintings began to be dominated by white and his artwork continued thereafter with a palette of solely greens, siennas, and white. Ponce de Leon is an exception to Cuban painting in his predilection for religious themes. Even the landscapes are not truly real, but evoke a spiritual memory. Fidelio Ponce de Leon's paint
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