The life of local hermit Hilario is the main subject of a new exhibition opening in Teguise on Sunday 11th November. Featuring paintings by Gran Canarian artist and local resident José Rosales, the exhibition explores the probable experience of this solitary man on Lanzarote.

Hilario´s chosen dwelling place was in the Timanfaya region of Lanzarote, where the El Diablo restaurant in the National Park now resides. He followed an extremely restrained existence, surviving on figs, goat´s milk and very little contact with other people living on the island at the time.

With little to impinge on his reflections in the midst of the desolate landscape that Lanzarote became after the volcanic eruptions, Rosales presents the hermit amidst his meditations on the spirit and a life of an ascetic.

The artist´s style is similar to the primitivism that Henri Rousseau explored, with sparse landscapes and expressive but un-detailed figures in the foreground. Unlike Rousseau´s jungle depictions, Rosales concentrates on bringing the colours and textures of Lanzarote´s desert scenery to life.

The exhibition has been organized by the Department of Culture at the Ayuntamiento of Teguise and will be inaugurated on Sunday 11th November at midday. The exhibition is being held at the Convent of Santo Domingo and entrance to the exhibition is free. The paintings will remain on show until 11th December.