First vestiges
Rock paintings regularly uncovered in the country's caves bear witness to Cuba's indigenous past. Archaeological sites also reveal ornate polished stones, ceramics, ritual objects, idols or figures carved in natural materials such as stone and wood. The region of Baracoa gathers several of the major sites of the island. Founded in 2003 on the hill El Paraíso, the Museo Arqueológico Paraíso invites visitors to learn about the life of the Taino people through a hundred artifacts. The Archaeological Society of Baracoa, which fights fiercely to preserve the remains of the island, has a rich exhibition hall. Run by passionate people who lead guided tours, the place houses treasures inherited from the first inhabitants of the island.
Emergence of a Cuban art
Various aesthetic trends were brought over the centuries by the Spanish colonists and the slaves brought from Africa. It took centuries of external contributions and crossbreeding to see an authentic Cuban art assert itself. Several Cuban personalities have made their way and imposed their talent, opening Cuba to international currents.
The first known painter in Cuba, José Nicolás de Escalera, was born in Havana in 1734. Self-taught, he perfected his skills by copying works, mostly religious ones. Some of his creations, such as La Santísima Trinidad, can be seen at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. He painted the murals of the church of Santa María del Rosario, built in 1760. In his Santo Domingo y la Noble Familia de Casa Bayona
, a black slave appears for the first time in Cuban painting. From the 16th century, the Spanish conquest and the evangelization of the territory changed the situation. The Baroque style shines through. Until the 19th century, pictorial art was essentially inspired by the Catholic world. With the foundation of the Academy of San Alejandro in 1818 by the French painter Vermay, a school that continues to train artists, new directions are taken. Until the 1880s, landscape artists dominated. Esteban Chartrand and Valentín Sanz Carta (1849-1898) perfectly illustrate this genre. Juana Borrero (1877-1896), despite her premature death at the age of 19, practiced both poetry and painting. Some of her portraits are on display at the Museo nacional de Bellas Artes. On the whole, however, the academicism of the time was the main theme. The most popular themes were rural landscapes, religion, historical scenes and portraits.Modern turnaround
A wave of painters trained in San Alejandro manifest their desire to disrupt the codes. Some of them traveled to Europe, especially to France, where they assimilated the avant-garde approaches that were being used. In 1927, an exhibition at La Revista de Avance highlighted the new talents. The sculptor Juan José Sicre (1898-1974), Eduardo Abela (1889-1965), Víctor Manuel, Antonio Gattorno (1904-1980) and Carlos Enríquez (1900-1957) were all names linked to Cuban modernism.
The first modern art show in 1937 confirmed the advances made. The artists drew from the Surrealists, the Fauvists and the Cubists, while at the same time associating characteristic Afro-Cuban elements. As early as the 1940s, there was already talk of a Havana school. Mariano Rodríguez (1912-1990), René Portocarrero (1912-1985), who described in his work the beauty of his native country by adopting a figurative art, Amelia Pélaez (1896-1968), who was inspired by Mexican artistic movements (Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo) through frescoes with a resolutely social tone, were all part of this trend.
Painter and ceramist, Amelia Pélaez entered the academy of San Alejandro. Influenced by institutional classicism and by her teacher, the Cuban painter Leopoldo Romañach (1862-1951), she exhibited for the first time in Havana in 1924 before staying in New York and Europe. Returning to Cuba in 1934, Amelia Pélaez devoted the rest of her life to art, with a detour into mural painting and ceramics from the 1950s.
A precocious artist, René Portocarrero (1912-1985), began painting at the age of 14. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in San Alejandro, but very early on he opposed the prevailing canons and left the institution. His trips to Haiti, Europe and the United States opened up new perspectives. His work revolves mainly around mural art and ceramics. His works are exhibited in prestigious modern art museums around the world, and naturally in Havana.Wilfredo Lam or the soul of Cuba
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla, known as Wifredo Lam, was born in Sagua La Grande (1902-1982). A Cuban painter of Afro-Chinese origin, Lam developed a unique style that quickly made his reputation. His approach, based on crossbreeding, brought him closer to the Martinique poet Aimé Césaire. In his paintings, he combines Western modernism with African and West Indian symbols to present a singular language. Lam was exiled for many years in France and Spain, where he met Picasso, Breton and the Surrealists, then the CoBrA group.
Wilfredo Lam's return to Cuba marked one of the major turning points in Cuban painting. From then on, he drew heavily on the themes of santería. Alejo Carpentier, dazzled by his work, described it as a combination of "the chaos of the American man and of modern man in general". The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wilfredo Lam in Havana, a hub of the cultural scene, pays homage to him by perpetuating his spirit of openness to the world. In addition to the permanent collection, the center welcomes international creation and now hosts the Havana Biennial.Revolution and censorship
After the Cuban revolution in 1959, the government implemented a policy that favored culture and all its forms of expression. The Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Havana is a breeding ground for talent. Art schools were established throughout the country and the ISA (Instituto Superior de Arte) was created in 1976. But the 1970s were marked by increased political control over the art world. Many creators went into exile. The leader of Cuban pop art, Raúl Martínez, remained in Cuba and turned his attention to the revolutionary figures that were omnipresent on the island. Other currents circumvented the institutional constraint by investing themselves in primitive art, abstraction and the revival of Afro-Cuban folklore. Let's also mention Manuel Mendive or Flavio Garciandía. Half-figurative, half-surrealist, the works of the former enrich the best Cuban and foreign collections, and draw abundantly from the African cultural heritage.
In the 1980s, several alternative currents emerged. Puré and Artecalle are the most representative. Exhibiting their works in the street, the artists sought to avoid censorship. Under police repression, most of them emigrated abroad (Miami, Mexico, Madrid, Paris or London). The photographer Jose Manuel Fors, born in 1956, reintroduced the theme of nature into Cuban art through motifs such as grass, trees and earth.
The 1990s saw the affirmation of show art, of which Carlos Garaicoa remains the most emblematic representative. Born in 1967, the creations of this artist, who is also a photographer, reflect his view of social and political life. He started out in the midst of the economic depression but multiplied the modes of expression to make himself heard. This is how he obtained international recognition.When the walls speak
The economic crisis and the deprivations of the período especial reshape the local artistic creation. In Havana, Salvador González Escalona began in 1992 a remarkable work along the Callejón de Hamel. His huge, flamboyant murals showcase the richness of Afro-Cuban culture and santería and are now a center of artistic attraction. Today, the walls are no longer dedicated to propaganda, but censorship remains. The authorities place limits on urban art, and it is best to stay away from political themes. Several street artists are not intimidated. A popular protester, El Sexto was imprisoned several times before going into exile in the United States after tagging "Se fue" (he left) the day after Fidel Castro's death. Fabian aka 2+2=5 makes his alter ego Supermalo, a hooded character, speak for his compatriots. Among the most active, MYL scatters ultra-feminine characters or skulls across the capital. On the other hand, Yulier P has given up murals to paint on tiles that he scatters throughout the city. In spite of the increased surveillance in the tourist areas, international artists are leaving their works. We can admire the works of Rone, Noe Two or JR who came several times, including for the Biennale of 2019.
Current scene
Since the early 2000s, Cuban visual arts have been diversifying in terms of technique and theme, although Cuban identity predominates. Nancy Reyes paints on stained glass and is inspired by Afro-Cuban syncretism. Alfredo Fernandez Duany uses graffiti to evoke situations experienced on a daily basis in Cuba.
In general, Cuban contemporary artists are characterized by their originality. Rolando Vasquez's work, for example, is really amazing and successful. He is inspired by the ceremonies of one of the currents of the Afro-Cuban religion, the Palo Monte, to draw blindly, with a candle, shapes produced by the smoke on small plates. Originally, the drawings thus obtained would be the expression of a message from the Afro-Cuban gods, or from ancestors, intended for the person who came to consult the Palo Monte priest...
Another interesting and internationally known artist is the painter Niurka Rodriguez Inurrieta. She is considered one of the best young Cuban printmakers of her generation. She has already represented Cuba in some 40 exhibitions around the world, including in Japan, Spain and France.
While Cuba does not have a great reputation for sculpture, contemporary art galleries are booming and several of them exhibit sculptures, as can be seen at the "Mousetrap of the Arts", or more officially the Fábrica de Arte Cubano. This FAC came into being in 2014 at the initiative of Cuban artist X Alfonso. Installed in an old oil factory in the Vedado neighborhood, this huge place with a cultural, artistic, and festive vocation is the address not to be missed. Real beating heart of the Havana life, we recommend you to reserve a few hours of your stay there!
