The art of cuba
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, with the participation of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Foteca de Cuba, has created quite a stir in the art world with its magnificent exhibit “CUBA: Art and History from 1868 to Today” (exhibit ends June 8, 2008). The exhibition has 100 paintings, 200 photographs, 100 posters, and other works on paper, video, in music and in film excerpts.
Cuba was for centuries the crossroads of the Old World and New World. A famous hotel in Old Habana, where Hemingway lived and wrote, is the Ambos Mundos (Spanish and Portuguese for “Both Worlds”). Music, dance, literature, sculpture and visual arts from Cuba are becoming very popular again with Cuba’s reemergence into the global community under Raul Castro.
Pre-Columbian art by the original natives of Cuba can be seen in cave paintings. After the Spanish conquest of Cuba, the Colonial period of Cuban art commenced. Francisco Javier Baez was the first Cuban graphic artist. In 1762, Havana was captured quickly by British troops who ingenuously disembarked east of Habana near Cojimar and attacked the city and powerful forts of Havana from land instead of from the sea. The first graphic document, “Toma de la Habana” (The Capture of Havana), was published by Dominique Serres. Elias Durnford, between 1764 and 1765, painted six views of Habana. His work is widely held as the precursor of all subsequent Cuban imagery and scenes.
Jose Nicolas Escalera is considered Cuba’s first painter. His work can be viewed at the church of Santa Maria de Rosario. Vicente Escobar was also an early Cuban painter. The frescoes in the Cathedral of Havana were commissioned by Bishop Juan Jose Diaz de Espada y Landa in 1805. The frescoes were painted by the great Italian Constantino Brumidi. Brumidi is better known in the U.S. by his works in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
In 1818, the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes was founded in Habana. Subsequent works by Esteban Chartrand, Valentin Sanz Carta, Armando Garcia Menocal and Leopoldo Romanach Guillen firmly established Cubans as very capable visual artists in the 19th century. During World War I, the Salon de Bellas Artes was founded and permitted commercial exhibitions of Cuban art. Twentieth-century artists include Victor Manuel, Amelia Palaez, Wilfredo Lam and the photographer Alberto Korda.
Art by the Cuban masters can no longer leave Cuba except for exhibitions like the one currently being conducted in Montreal. There are works by the Cuban masters that were exported from Cuba before 1959. International auction houses, such as Sotheby’s, occasionally offer these priceless works.
When one arrives in Cuba today, the visitor readily sees “street art” by new Cuban artists who sell their works at authorized arts and crafts sites throughout Cuba. Many artists also sell their works directly from their homes. Art, literature and music can be legally imported from Cuba because they are exempt from the U.S. embargo due to the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution.
If you cannot find a way to Cuba, remember that Cuban art is also sold through the Internet by enterprising Cubans, Mexicans and Canadians. A good place to start viewing Cuban art for sale is Ebay. Enter the search words “Cuba” and “art” or “painting” and you will see many works and offers.
Many people are buying Cuban art in the hope for great appreciation of its monetary value when the U.S. embargo is lifted. A better alternative is simply buying Cuban art you personally like and displaying it proudly, regardless of any future potential price appreciation. Francis Bacon once said, “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” Certainly, the art of Cuba deepens the mystery of the “Forbidden Island”: Cuba.
