Art in Venezuela

The National Art Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, in Caracas, have the most important collections of Venezuela’s artistic heritage.

19th century painters

Tovar y Tovar. Mural of the battle of Carabobo

Martin Tovar y Tovar (1827-1902) is known for a series of battles painted for the National Congress. Nevertheless he was a very versatile painter who explored a wide range of themes including portraits. His historical tradition was continued by Tito Salas (1888-1974) who commemorated Bolivar’s life in huge murals, which can be seen in Bolivar´s house in Caracas.

Tito Salas. Battle of Araure with Simon Bolívar, El Libertador

It is said Tito Salas depicted himself as this lancer taking part in the battle.

Arturo Michelena (1863-1898) Colour and movement are considered important aspects of his paintings. ( i.e. paintings horses, which provided his only distraction from painting) . Despite his short life, Michelena received international recognition.

Michelena. Portrait of General Joaquin Crespo

Cristóbal Rojas (1858-1890) His works are marked by intense dramatism which reflects his personal history ( earthquake and the federal war)

Cristóbal Rojas. Misery

20th century

The Circle of Beaux Arts (El Círculo de Bellas Artes) was born as a protest against the teaching methods of Antonio Herrera Toro (1857-1914), director of the Academy of Arts in Caracas. The students demanded renovation because they knew important changes had taken place in Europe. This movement only lasted for a few years (1912-1916) but contributed to a new vision of art. 

Antonio Herrera Toro. Selfportrait

Carlos Otero (1886-1977) was a transitional painter who hadn’t joined the new circle but who had a close artistic affinity to that movement.

Manuel Cabré and the Ávila mountains

Manuel Cabré (1890-1984) was a renowned Venezuelan landscape painter. He was fascinated by the monumental Ávila Mountains that surround Caracas and painted them from all angles and shapes - the reason why he is considered (“El Ávila painter”). His works have influenced painters of the new “school” such as Pedro Angel González (1901-1981) who helped spreading the style of the “Caracas School”, a new trend in painting which started in 1912 with The Circle of Beaux Arts and that continue well onto the 1940’s.

Pedro Angel González. Gamboa landscape

Frederico Brandt (1878-1932) painted the simplicity either of a street, a garden or an interior. He was considered a painter of intimacy.

Frederico Brandt. Interior

Marcelo Vidal Orozco (1889-1943) Most of his paintings show shadow and contrast with light emanating from the back.

Marcelo Vidal Orozco. Landscape 1: Catia chapel

Influence of Foreign Painters

Emilio Boggio. Le moulin de Perigny

Samys Mützner

Nicolás Ferdinandov

Emilio Boggio (1857-1920), Samuel (Samys) Mützner (1869-1958) and Nicolás Ferdinandov (1886-1925) are three painters with a very different background, though they all have in common their influence on the young Venezuelan painters searching new ways of artistic expression. In Boggio’s paintings one could recognize the influence of French masters like Monet and Pissarro (the latter lived in Caracas for 2 years).

Mützner was the first painter with an impressionist technique who came to Venezuela after feeling frustrated with the situation in Europe after the Great War (1914-18).

Ferdinandov used painting as a way to understand the mysteries of nature. He painted marine colours in the deep Caribbean Sea. His influence was crucial in Rafael Monasterios (1884-1961), the travelling painter whose works showed different regions of the country, and Armando Reverón (1889-1954) who started modern Venezuelan painting.

Rafael Monasterios. Curarigua

Armando Reverón

Marcos Castillo (1897-1966) - Although he lived at a time when landscapes were the main tradition in painting, he painted everything except landscapes: still life, interiors and nudes.

Marcos Castillo

César Prieto (1882-1976) is considered an academic painter. Light is a very important factor in his work.

César Prieto 

Rafael Rámon González (1894-1975) introduced social themes in his paintings.

Rafael Rámon González 

Luis Alfredo López Méndez (1901-1996) started his studies in the academy when he was only 11. His favourite topics were El Avila and market scenes.

Luis Alfredo López Méndez

Antonio Alcántara (1898-1991) left his painting career for almost 20 years but then returned later and was influenced by impressionism.

Antonio Alcántara 

Contemporary Trends 

Elisa Elvira Zuloaga (1900-1980) introduced a new trend in landscape painting, not as a real theme but as an invention of reality.

Elisa Elvira Zuloaga

Franciso Narváez (1905-1982) has a museum in Margarita Island that is worth visiting and contains his largest collection, mainly of sculptures.

Jesús Soto in Chiado, Lisbon. 2008

Jesús Soto (1923- 2005) is a leading representative of kinetic art.

Héctor Poleo (1918-1989) developed surrealism in his artwork.













Jacobo Borges (1931-1991) is considered one of the most accomplished artists of Latin America.

Oswaldo Vigas (1926-2014) created imaginary beings in his artwork, like witches, which became a core topic of his.

Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923) focused on colour, line and (viewer) perception throughout his career in order to create the idea of movement.



See also César Rengifo

References:

Donación Miguel Otero Silva- Arte venezolano en las coleciones de la Galería de Arte Nacional Y el Museo de Anzoátegui. Fundación Galeria de Arte Nacional. Caracas, 1993

El Círculo de Bellas Artes- A Cien Años de su Creacion (1912-2012)

All the photos were taken from the net: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Obras_de_la_Galer%C3%ADa_de_Arte_Nacional



This post belongs to a series:

Art in Bogotá and Museum of Modern Art, Cartagena

Art in New York

Art in Canada

Art in London

Art in Dublin

Art in Jamaica

International Museum Day