Julio Arturo Grullón Julia (February 8, 1869 – July 14, 1942) was a Dominican painter,

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, and educator. A student of influential Puerto Rican intellectual

Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as ("The Great Citizen of the Americas"), was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican educator, philosopher, intellectual, lawyer, sociologist, novelist, and Puerto Rican ...

, Grullón is considered one of the forerunners of Dominican national art, and remembered as one of the founders of Dominican surgery.Cantisano Arias, Dr. H.J. Rafael. “Dr. Julio Arturo Grullón Julia: Destacado médico santiaguense, considerado uno de los fundadores de la cirugía dominicana.” Santiago y sus servicios médicos. https://www.fcsuasd.net/web/attachments/179_Biograf%C3%ADa%20Dr.%20Julio%20Arturo%20Grullón.pdf He was a part of the first graduating class of students from the Normal School in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

in 1884, established by his professor de Hostos. Early in life, he was also a student of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

painter Juan Fernández Corredor and Dominican painter Luis Desangles, whose workshop brought him into the circle of other prominent young artists and intellectuals like

Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta (June 24, 1870 – January 11, 1933) was a Dominican sculptor, photographer, painter and educator. A prolific artist, he was one of the first successful multidisciplinary artists of the modern art era in the Dominica ...

, Manuel María Sanabia, Arquímedes de la Concha,

Leopoldo Navarro Leopoldo Navarro Bermúdez (October 22, 1917 – October 25, 2014) was the Vice President of Nicaragua, Vice President of Nicaragua, in the administration of president Arnoldo Alemán. Early life Bermudez was born on 22 October 1917 to J.Gonzale ...

, Adolfo García Obregón, and Francisco González Lamarche.Danilo de los Santos. Memoria de la Pintura Dominicana. (Colección Centenario Grupo León Jimenes) 8v: il. Grupo León Jimenes. Santo Domingo, 2003. pg 177 After graduating from the Normal school, Grullón travelled to Europe to study art, settling in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he eventually earned his degree in medicine in 1902. He returned to his hometown of

Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros ("James, son of Zebedee, Saint James of the Knights"), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of ...

to practice his specialties in Surgery,

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

and

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, acquiring national recognition throughout the years. In addition, he provided his ophthalmological services in Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata,

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic. The capital of its eponymous province in the east region of the country, it is among the ten largest cities of the Dominican Republic. The city has approx ...

and

San Francisco de Macorís San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the country, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province and the sixth most populated city in the country since 2010. The name ...

. He was the first Dominican to practice cataract operations and surgeries. Grullón married his niece Filomena Amelia Grullón, daughter of his brother Alejandro Servio Grullón with María Luisa Rodríguez-Objío, a daughter of National Hero Manuel Rodríguez Objío. Grullón was granduncle of banker Alejandro Grullón and great-granduncle of banker Manuel Alejandro Grullón. Grullón died on July 14, 1942, in the same city where he was born. At present, the Children's Hospital of Santiago de los Caballeros bears his name.

Biography

Julio Arturo Grullón Julia was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic on February 8, 1869. His parents were independentist merchant and political activist, Máximo Grullón Salcedo (1826-1877) and Eleonora Julia, who provided their seven children a careful education allowing them to excel from an early age. One of them being Eliseo Grullón (1852-1915), who was sent to Nanter, France where he obtained a humanistic and professional training that afforded him influence in the political sphere of his native country when he returned in 1874; a recognized writer and initiator of cultural initiatives, the elder Grullón played a hand in Spanish painter Fernández Corredor's stay in Santo Domingo. Julio Arturo, Eliseo's younger brother learned under the artistic guidance of the aforementioned teacher and painter, who, in 1883, founded an academy of drawing and painting in the capital city, where Arturo Grullón attended classes. Grullón was part of the first group of students who graduated on September 28, 1884, at the Normal School founded by de Hostos in 1880 in Santo Domingo, along with Félix Evaristo Mejía, another prominent student of the Antillean teacher. Grullón also attended Luis Desangles's workshop-school established in Santo Domingo in 1883. At 17 years old, Grullón left for Europe to study visual arts. Initially destined for Rome, he instead settled in Paris, a powerful magnet for many Latin American intellectuals of the time. There he met Cuban writer

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

, and learned pictorial techniques under a Spanish teacher, surrounded by the Paris of the

Belle Epoque Belle may refer to: People and fictional characters * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people * Southern belle, a stock character representing a young woman of the American South's upp ...

. Despite initially travelling to Europe to continue an artistic career, motivated by anatomical drawing, he decides to study medicine in Paris, graduating as a doctor in 1902.

Artistic career

Grullón is one of the first Dominican artist to study art in Paris, where he was immersed in the fin-de-siècle era, participating in various national competitions; in 1900 he was awarded a prize in Paris for his famous pictorial work ''El Moro''. When excess study and work made him sick and a tropical climate was recommended, Grullón decided to go to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, where against doctors’ recommendations, he enrolls in the University to continue his studies. It was there where he painted his series of Algerian pictorial life. He eventually returned to Paris in 1900. Of the entire series, the most prominent is ''El Moro'' (pastel 1896), a portrait also known by the title ''El Árabe''. This 27 x 22 inch format painting was First Prize at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The short and intense pictorial development of Grullón extends from the year 1883 with Corredor and Desangles, then in France, when he decided to study medicine in 1894, until the year 1900. After returning to his native country, he assumes the family and medical responsibilities that lead to the abandonment of the life of the workshop and canvas.” This renunciation of brushes is so abrupt that his autobiography as a health scientist makes no mention of his artistic incursions.^ Ibid. pg 243

Medical career

Surgery in the early 20th century Dominican Republic was limited to some emergency cases and war surgery, only involving immediate intervention of some wounds, due to

hemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, ...

, cleaning of bone trauma, and amputations; after graduating as a doctor in 1902 in Paris, Grullón returned to Santiago de los Caballeros, with specialties in Surgery, Obstetrics and Ophthalmology. He was granted an

exequatur An exequatur (Latin, literally "let it execute") is a legal document issued by a sovereign authority that permits the exercise or enforcement of a right within the jurisdiction of the authority. International relations An exequatur is a letters ...

on January 10, 1903, the year in which he began his notable work as a surgeon. He performed operations on the eye, throat, pterygium,

strabismus Strabismus is an eye disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

tonsillectomy Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For those wit ...

, and in 1906, Grullón performed the first gastroentero-anastomosis performed in the country. In 1907, Grullón installed an operating room and two rooms for the sick in a unit of the Normal Pharmacy in Santiago. He was also the first surgeon in the Dominican Republic to perform

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertro ...

. In 1912 he was appointed director of the San Rafael hospital in the city of Santiago, and then again in 1921. He had been director of the San Pedro de Macorís Hospital, where he had also installed a private clinic. Grullón also directed the Military Hospital of Santo Domingo in 1914. Moreover, he was a professor at the University of Santo Domingo, in

Gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

and Topographic Anatomy.

Gallery

File:Grullon Paisaje.jpg, Paisaje argelino. Arturo Grullon 1897. File:Grullón still life with bird.png, Arturo Grullon – Still life with bird, 1898 File:Arturo Grullon – Water from the fountain.jpg, Arturo Grullon – Water from the fountain File:Grullon Retrato de Monsieur.jpg, Grullon Retrato de Monsieur File:Grullón, Paisaje Urbano.jpg, Grullón, Paisaje Urbano

References

1869 births 1942 deaths People from Santiago de los Caballeros 19th-century Dominican Republic artists Male painters Dominican Republic art educators Dominican Republic male artists 19th-century male artists Dominican Republic landscape painters Dominican Republic painters Dominican Republic surgeons Dominican Republic medical doctors White Dominicans {{DEFAULTSORT:Grullón, Arturo