David Manzur Londoño (Neira, Caldas, Colombia, 1929) is one of the leading figures of modern and contemporary Colombian painting, with a career spanning more than seven decades and marked by explorations of abstraction, Constructivism, and figuration. His work is recognized for its technical mastery of drawing and painting, as well as for a distinctive iconography featuring horses, equestrian figures, saints, still lifes, and subjects inspired by the Western pictorial tradition.

Born in Colombia to a Lebanese father and Colombian mother, Manzur spent part of his childhood in Equatorial Guinea and Spain. His early encounters with paintings by Spanish masters such as Velázquez and Zurbarán shaped a lasting relationship with the classical tradition that would later become an essential element of his artistic language.

After returning to Colombia, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bogotá and presented his first solo exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Colombia in 1953. He later moved to New York, where he studied at the Art Students League and Pratt Institute. During this period, he also worked alongside Constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo, an experience that deepened his interest in geometry, structure, and the construction of space.

During the 1960s and 1970s, David Manzur developed a body of work associated with geometric abstraction and Constructivism. In 1962, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a recognition that accompanied the growing international presence of his work.

Beginning in the second half of the 1970s, Manzur progressively returned to figurative painting. Horses, human figures, still lifes, and religious references became central to his compositions, in which he combines his knowledge of the Old Masters with a contemporary approach to space, light, and movement.

In addition to his artistic practice, Manzur has played an important role as an educator in Colombia, training new generations of artists through his studio. His career has received significant honors, including Colombia’s Order of Boyacá and Spain’s Order of Isabella the Catholic.

David Manzur’s artworks are held in public and private collections in Colombia and internationally. His ability to connect the pictorial tradition with the transformations of modern art has established him as a significant figure in Colombian and Latin American art.