oil on canvas / 180 x 180 cm

2025 - 2026

Richard Somonte

Samurai Lía on Horseback is a portrait inspired by an imagined vision of Lía, the painter’s daughter, in adulthood. The composition follows the characteristic structure of The Cavalry series, developed by Richard Somonte over recent years, in which the equestrian figure becomes a recurring element within his pictorial practice.

The landscape is inspired by the Yumurí Valley in Cuba, a setting deeply connected to the artist’s visual memory and early landscape references. The valley was also an important source of inspiration for the Belgian painter Henri Cleenewerck, one of the artists most admired by Richard Somonte during the early stage of his career. Details incorporated into the garment allude to the motif of the swimming mare, another recurring subject within Somonte’s work, associated with his exploration of movement, nature, and symbolic memory.