The Modern Art History of Cuba
Cuban art is a diverse multi-ethnic fusion of European, North American and African visual design communicating the various population make-up of Cuba. Cuban artists took onboard the European modernist movement and the early part of the 20th century saw an increase in Cuban modernist trends; these trends were marked by a potpourri of modern aesthetic genres. Some of the more celebrated 20th century Cuban artists tended to hail from the earlier part of the 20th century (e.g. Wifredo Lam).
Arguably the most notable art (of sorts) to come out of Cuba was THAT picture of a certain Che Guevara (photograph by Mr Alberto Korda) which ended up being maybe one of the most recognisable photographs of the 20th century.
The native Cuban art movement amassed momentum after the opening of the art academy (San Alejandro) back in 1818, which was constructed to satisfy the European preference of the middle class population of Cuba. In the late 1800s, landscape paintings were very popular within Cuban art and classicism was still the preferred genre.
Yet, the Vanguardia Cuban modern artists of the late 1920s had despised the theoretical formulas of Cuba’s national art academy. During their genesis, many Cuban artists had lived in Paris, where they learned and assimilated the tenets of cubism, surrealism and modernist primitivism. Once back in Cuba, they became dedicated to new artistic styles and were keen to combine this new aesthetic persuasion with a Cuban twist. The vanguardia artists achieved worldwide acclaim only as recently as 2003 when the MOMA displayed the the Modern Cuban Painting show.
