Visual Arts in Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba treasures pioneering moments in the area of visual arts, from the arrival of the first painting in Cuba (Ecce Homo, in 1610, from Cartagena de Indias and created by the painter Francisco Antonio) to the oldest pictorial piece that we have knowledge, the Virgen de la Luz of Tadeus Chirino.

Jose Joaquin Tejada introduces realism in the Cuban painting tradition and gets called the “new painter of Cuba”. This is the reason why the Academy of Plastic Arts was named after him. Whether as students or as professors, important artists like Antonio Ferrer Cabello, with its eternal worry on Luz and Calor de Santiago, Miguel Angel Botalin, Jose Julian Aguilera Vicente and Jose Loreto Horruitinier have been linked to the academy. All these artists capture in some way the sinuosity of the Santiago streets.

Santiago de Cuba appreciates the work of Rene Valdes Cedeño, who, with his fountain Abel Santamaria, gives the city one of its most iconic images. The sculptors Luis Mariano Frometa and Matrio Trenard, Miguel Angel Lobaina, Suitberto Goire, Marta Mosquera and Nelson Trutie in carving, painting and graphic design. The naïf trend, with simplicity and the bright colors find its best expression in the work of Ruperto Jay Matamoros.

A symbol of the visual arts in Santiago de Cuba is without a doubt the Plaza de la Revolucion, a monumental complex with the equestrian statue of Antonio Maceo created by Alberto Lescay, one of our most prolific creators. The Caguayo Foundation that boosts the biennial event Rene Valdes Cedeño in memoriam, in order to promote the environmental sculpture of Santiago.