Gilberto Hernández Ortega (21 December 1923 – 23 October 1979) was an artist from the Dominican Republic. He is considered a leading

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

of his generation.

Early life and education

He was born in

Baní Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in the southern region of Valdesia. The town is located 65 km south of the capital city Santo Domingo. Baní is the headquarte ...

Peravia Province Peravia () is a Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the southern region of the Dominican Republic. Before January 1, 2002 it was included in what is the new San José de Ocoa (province), San José de Ocoa province, and published stat ...

, in 1923 but was raised in Santo Domingo. He was great-grandson of

Pierre André Frier Pierre André Frier Roche (b. Fabré Geffrard and the Dominican president Buenaventura Báez">Buenaventura Baez during the second half of the 19th century in Hispaniola. Biography Pierre André Frier was the son of Jean Antoine Frier (1804-1871) ...

, a Frenchman. Ortega first studied art under

Celeste Woss y Gil Celeste Agustina Woss y Gil (5 May 1891 – 1985) was a Dominican Republic painter, educator, and feminist activist, remembered as one of the most influential Dominican artists from the 20th century. Born in Santo Domingo and daughter to former ...

at her private academy. Undecided about his career, he studied engineering for more than two years before committing to pursuing painting. He enrolled in the

National School of Fine Arts National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, where he studied under Woss y Gil once again, as well as Josep Gausachs and George Hausdorf. Ortega was particularly influenced by Gausachs, maintaining a close relationship with the older artist until Gausachs's death in 1959. In addition to Gausachs, he worked closely with Jaime Colson and Clara Ledesma. Other sources of inspiration included Cuban artists Wifredo Lam and

Mario Carreño Morales Mario Carreño y Morales (May 24, 1913 in Havana, Cuba – December 20, 1999 in Santiago de Chile, Chile) was a Cuban Painting, painter. He studied painting at the Academia de San Alejandro, Havana, Cuba from 1925 until 1926. In 1934, he stu ...

Career

In 1946, Ortega had his first solo exhibition, exhibiting 63 paintings and drawings. He also exhibited abroad, with his first international solo exhibition being held in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Venezuela, in 1951. Other international shows included exhibitions in the United States, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Israel and Taiwan. In addition, he was awarded prizes in national Biennial art events in 1952, 1958 and 1974. He also taught art for many years. Ortega became a professor at the National School of Fine Arts in 1946 and was named vice director in 1954. In 1966, he opened a private art school in Santo Domingo. During his many years of teaching, Ortega had a significant influence on major Dominican artists, including

Ada Balcácer Ada Balcácer (born 16 June 1930) is a Dominican multimedia visual artist whose artistic production ranges from painted works, textile designs, murals, and printmaking. Known for her compositional themes of Caribbean mysticism and naturalism, Ba ...

Iván Tovar Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

Ramón Oviedo Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest * ...

and

Elsa Núñez Elsa Núñez (born 1943) is a Dominican abstract artist whose work spans more than 50 years. Elsa is the daughter of Mercedes Castillo de Núñez and Ramón Antonio Núñez. Her mother was a high school teacher, and her father served as a general ...

. While primarily a Surrealist, he also experimented with

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and Abstraction. Most of Ortega's paintings are figurative, depicting distorted human forms. Although dark colors such as blues, violets, grays, greens, browns and black predominate, his

palette Palette may refer to: * Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form * Palette, another name for a color scheme * Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting ** Palette knife, an implement for painting * Palette (company), ...

is often enlivened with vibrant yellows, oranges and reds.

Death

Ortega died in Santo Domingo in 1979.

References

* De los Santos, Danilo, ''Memoria de la pintura dominicana, Volumen 3'', Santo Domingo: Grupo León Jimenes, 2004. * De los Santos, Danilo, ''Memoria de la pintura dominicana, Volumen 4'', Santo Domingo: Grupo León Jimenes, 2004. * Staff (undated).
"Gilberto Hernández Ortega 1924–1978"
(in Spanish).

Museo Bellapart The Museo Bellapart is a private art museum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Its collection includes artwork from the mid-19th century to the 1960s.

. Retrieved August 24, 2013. * Urena Rib, Fernando
La Magia Oculta del Tropico: Gilberto Hernandez Ortega
Latin American Art Museum. Retrieved May 18, 2013

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez Ortega, Gilberto 1923 births 1979 deaths National School of Fine Art faculty Dominican Republic male artists Dominican Republic people of French descent 20th-century Dominican Republic artists 20th-century Dominican Republic painters Male painters 20th-century male artists Art educators Founders of educational institutions People from Baní People from Santo Domingo Surrealist artists

Early life and education

Career

Death

See also

References

External links