Origins
Long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Taïnos led a peaceful life. Their many talents ranged from agricultural techniques to sculpture, ceramics and body painting. Wood carvings and idols, or "cemis", designed to shelter the spirits, remain from this animist people. Two places to visit: in the capital, the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, and in La Romana, the Museo Arqueológico Regional Altos de Chavón. Other Taino vestiges to admire include petroglyphs drawn in caves throughout the territory, including Samaná, Bayahibe, San Cristóbal and Enriquillo.
The hospitality of the Dominican Republic has fostered a variety of contributions over the centuries. Jewish, African, Japanese, Spanish, Oriental - extremely diverse communities have contributed to the eclecticism that has become the signature of Dominican culture. Art, like crafts, is the first witness to this mix. Somewhat by tradition, the main source of inspiration for Dominican artists remains the environment. In the choice of natural materials and the use of vibrant colors, most artists reflect a slice of Dominican life.
The heritage of the Taino Indians lives on in motifs inspired by their mythology. Among the most common, the turtle symbolizes the feminine, while the bird's beak represents the masculine. The woodwork developed by the first Indians has also survived the centuries. Little by little, Spanish artists in turn influenced the art of local sculpture. Works carved from precious bark, preserved in the Palos de Bonao Saints' Gallery, are reminiscent of the Spanish style of the 16th century. In painting, the African influence is clearly evident in the color palette typical of Dominican art.
Painting in everyday life
Firmly rooted in the island's popular culture, painting has become a way of life. Far from the galleries, it invades the streets, the stalls of craft stores and the facades, spreading its bright hues and its phantasmagoria over the territory. Whether political messages, plant portraits or animal figures, art is part of the landscape. From bourgeois mansions to modest Creole huts, the walls are adorned with paintings on a variety of themes, and a home wouldn't be quite Dominican without painting.
Street painting, on sale everywhere for sometimes derisory sums, is similar in some respects to Haitian naïve painting. They share certain themes (markets, daily life, village scenes, animals, etc.), simple workmanship and bright tones. At the same time, quality Dominican painting can be found in galleries, museums, on Calle El Conde and in the Victorian house transformed into the Casa de Arte, in Santiago's historic center. The Centro Cultural León Jimenes in Santiago, which focuses its programming on Dominican history and culture, also reserves a room for local visual arts.
As early as the 19th century, a number of talented artists broke away from tradition to forge their own personal style. To this end, some chose to train abroad. The country boasts some of the most respected masters in Latin America. Cándido Bidó is the most popular, even abroad.
From tradition to modernism
The first name to stand out among painters born in the Dominican Republic is Théodore Chassériau (1819-1856). This disciple of Ingres, whose work falls somewhere between classicism and romanticism, was born in El Limón, in the province of Samaná. A precocious artist, he painted Prosper Marihalt's portrait at the age of 15, making him the youngest artist to be admitted to the Louvre. At the age of 20, he decided to go into exile. He perfected his art in Rome, Algiers and then Paris, where he died at the age of 37, too young but already acclaimed.
Realistic landscapes were favored by early artists, some of them self-taught, such as Abelardo Piñeyro, born in Santo Domingo in 1862. A pharmacist by trade, he devoted himself to painting and music, composing magnificent still lifes in a naturalist vein teeming with detail. His contemporary Luis Desangles (1861-1940) learned his trade from Léon Cordero. Determined to make a career for himself, he specialized in portraits and patriotic scenes, decorating several churches with his work. Although born of French parents, he is considered the first historical master of Dominican painting. Many artists passed through his Santo Domingo studio, the Casa-Taller: Rodríguez Urdaneta, Leopoldo Navarro, Adolfo García Obregón, Arquímedes de la Concha, Carlos Ramírez Guerra, Manuel Buñols Medina to name but a few. Another essential contribution of Luis Desangles is costumbrismo or traditionalist art, which reflects customs and habits.
A pioneer of modern Dominican sculpture, Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta (1870-1933) came from Dejangles' workshop. He later added photography, engraving, music, drawing and painting to his skills. He produced numerous busts with political connotations.
In Dominican painting, the great founder of the modern school is undoubtedly Jaime Colson (1901-1975). Influenced by his many travels, he displayed a wide variety of styles in his work. After studying at the San Fernando painting academy in Madrid, he perfected his art with the Catalan masters of the turn of the century. He lived in Paris in the 1920s, where his painting was inspired by Cubism, under the influence of Picasso, Braque and Léger. Between 1934 and 1938, he worked in Mexico, where he became close to the muralists Diego Rivera and Siqueiros. Influenced by multiple artistic currents, he is the painter of universality. Balanced compositions, an interest in human figures and purity of form reveal his temperament. He founded the Grupo Los Cuatro with Gausachs, Hernández Ortega and Clara Ledesma.
The next generation
Following in her footsteps, Celeste Woss y Gil (1891-1985) is known for her female nudes, which combine Colson's modernism with European realism. After a long exile, she returned to Santo Domingo in 1931 and opened an art school, the Academia de Pintura y Dibujo, from which the painter Gilberto Hernández Ortega graduated.
In homage to Colson's collective, Cándido Bidó formed the Grupo Los Tres (1963-1965) with Lepe (Leopoldo Pérez). A painter born in Bonao in 1936, Cándido Bidó left school to earn his living as a shoeshine boy. Admitted to the Santo Domingo School of Fine Arts, he became a professor there in 1962. Exhibited throughout Latin America (Cuba, Colombia, Panama), Spain (Madrid), North America (Washington) and Kenya (Nairobi), he opened his own painting school in Santo Domingo, now transferred to his home town of Bonao. Now the Centre culturel Cándido Bidó de Bonao, the venue is indicated by large murals at the entrance. From expressionism to collages, from material effects to color explorations, he defines an easily identifiable style. He depicts various aspects of Dominican life through the theme of women and children, as well as pets. His violent chromaticism (dominated by blue, red, orange and yellow), shapes and themes are a strong expression of Dominican reality. He designed one of the Malecón's two obelisks and died in March 2011; a gallery continues to represent his work (5, calle Docteur Baez, in Santo Domingo's Gazcue district).
Painter, diplomat and art critic Darío Suro García Godoy was born in La Vega in 1918. Between 1943 and 1947, he lived in Mexico City, where he rubbed shoulders with Diego Rivera. His energetic, expressive works were exhibited in numerous galleries in Europe and the United States.
The Museo Bellapart, with a collection dating back to the 19th century, is the first private museum of Dominican plastic arts.
Nowadays
Artists from a variety of backgrounds keep Dominican art dynamic. Painter Silvano Lora (1931-2003) uses collage and the assembly of materials. He lived in France for many years and created a huge mosaic fresco in memory of Trujillo, on the spot where the latter was assassinated, just outside Santo Domingo, 5 km towards San Cristóbal, the dictator's home town.
Following in his footsteps, Charlie Simon, born in 1962 in Villa Altagracia, of Dominican-Haitian descent, took part in plastic arts events from an early age. He studied at the Altos de Chavón Academy under Felix Polanco. He finds his inspiration in Afro-Caribbean culture and the Taïno heritage; the earth tones and ochre that he favors constitute a highly personal universe that enhances Taïno symbolism. Charlie welcomes the public to his studio at Casa de los Artistas, Las Terrenas, 142 Calle Carmen.
As for photography, Domingo Batista, born in 1946, began his career as a photographer with the group Jueves 68. He. The artist, who defines himself as a photographic poet, aims to bear witness to climate change and deals with the harmony of nature. Co-author of the books El Color del camino and Color dominicano, he is also involved in audiovisual productions. His work has won numerous awards, including first prize from American Photo Magazine for his Dominican Fisherman.
Representative of the growth of Dominican art abroad, Walkind Rodriguez, born in 1978 in Santo Domingo, became interested in drawing at an early age. In 2003, he took part in his hometown's National Biennial of Visual Arts, before exhibiting at the Lyle O'Reitzel gallery. His performances now combine ceramics, photography, music and dance. The artist embodies the full diversity of Afro-Caribbean culture.
