Manuel Vega Lopez was born in Pinar del Rio in 1892. He moved to Havana in 1908 and attended school at San Alejandro. He graduated in 1912, and traveled to Europe. There, he studied mainly in the Italian school of art where he painted a number of oil paintings.

In 1919, Lopez returned to Cuba. He became a professor at his Alma Matter, San Alejandro in 1926, teaching drawing and painting. Eventually, Lopez became the fourteenth director of this illustrious art school.

Lopez’s work is mainly poetic landscapes or religious themed scenes. He was also known for his intricate detail, and his love for painting nature.

Although it was popular to change styles during this period, Lopez did not sway from his classical style. The Vanguard movement was very strong, and Abstract and other new styles were on the rise. Nonetheless, Lopez stood his ground and stayed true to his Italian teachings by painting in a Realist way.

Despite hard times, Lopez always managed to sell his paintings during his lifetime. For this reason, most of his work is owned in private collections, and only a very few are housed in museums, such as Cuba’s Nation Museum. Like many Cuban painters, Lopez’s work isn’t generally well known—but a valuable piece of Cuban art history just the same.

His travels to Europe further increase the possibility of some of his art surfacing, unknown or otherwise unauthenticated.