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The Art of Solentiname

Nearly every house on the different islands of Solentiname have some artist or artisan living there.

In the mid-1960s, the Nicaraguan priest and poet, Ernesto Cardenal, founded a small spiritual community in Solentiname, chosen for its beauty, tranquility, and isolation. At that time, the campesinos, or farmers, were miserably poor. Painting about the struggles of daily life and the beautiful natural surroundings flourished in the community. It has grown from a small group of fishermen and campesinos to now over 50 painters and is recognized as Escuela Primitivista de Solentiname.

Nearly every house on the different islands of Solentiname have some artist or artisan living there.

Before 1967, María Guevara S., one of Solentiname’s most gifted painters, had never seen paint or a paintbrush. It wasn’t until after she was introduced to the Nicaraguan painter, Róger Pérez de la Rocha, that she used either one and painted her first painting. “We thought they (paint tubes) looked like colored tooth paste,” said Guevara. “But when I saw the beautiful things that could be done with it, I knew I could do that too.”

The paintings are typified by idealized scenes of community life, lush natural environments and pastoral utopias, executed in bright colors and intricate detail. Rodolfo Arellano's painting, El Paraiso, shows the beauty of the rain forest, with man and nature living in harmony. The landscape seems pure; the colours are much diversified, showing the richness of the place. We can see two characters who are naked; in fact they are at their purest level. This could also represent the part of the bible with Adam and Eve . Some pieces of art represent nature as a dominant theme and might be associated with spirituality.

Besides depicting their lifestyle and values, the painters incorporated a religious current that had a deep impact on them: liberation theology. For example, the painting by Gloria Guevara, "Cristo Guerillero," drawn in 1975, depicts a saviour who is oppressed, like the people with whom he is identified, and who acts, from below, as their liberator. Painting, fighting against oppression and practicing their religion, melt into one unique reality. The distance between religion and revolution disappeared.

Some islands have more of the balsa carvings and others offer very beautiful primitive art paintings, treasured among many international collectors. There is a museum with a very good collection of artwork and information on the local ecological and cultural condition of the islands. The artists are very friendly and willing to have you enter their homes and watch them work on pieces which can be done by various members of the family. Because symbolism is important in the plastic arts, many artists will explain exactly what they were depicting on the canvas. Solentiname GallerySolentiname's "Primitivist" Movement-By María Alejandra Mendieta - "Vida Prehispánica" (Pre-Columbian Life) by Pablo Mayorga

”People in Solentiname led an archaic and simple existence before the “poeta” and “el pintor” got there. They still do, but now they have art in their lives—The poet and sculptor from Granada, Ernesto Cardenal, arrived in Solentiname in 1966 and was so impressed by the instinctual talent many of Solentiname’s inhabitants had for carving balsa wood and dried jícaro fruit that he invited his friend, the young Pérez de la Rocha, to the island. Together, they founded the popular Primitivist art school in Solentiname and trained many gifted artists to paint the natural beauty that surrounded them.. Primitivist art is characterized by its naiveté and its subject matter. The theme is usually every-day life, and in Solentiname, nature is an important part of every-day life. Various species of birds, reptiles, mammals, and even fish are normally depicted in these paintings.Primitivist paintings also almost always depict mountainous and volcanic backdrops, draped by fantastical sunrises and sunsets. Some paintings divide the canvas in moonlit, nighttime sceneries and bright sun-drenched landscapes.

They normally involve the element of water, as the Solentiname Archipelago is made up of more than 36 islands on the majestic Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua).Religious and social themes normally find their way into Primitivist paintings also. Women can often be seen working hard on the lakeshore; fishermen are often out on their boats, hoping for a great catch; the faithful crowd into white quaint churches; and an indigenous-looking Mary and Baby Jesus, with Joseph by their side, are often portrayed under a star-lit Solentiname sky.The element of fantasy, although in a more subtle way, is very predominant in Primitivist paintings. Although the subject matter is always very real, its depiction is never done in a realistic style—Colors are brighter than normal, there are very little shadow or light effects portrayed, the size of the subjects in relation to their surroundings are never authentic, and perspective is seldom respected. But the mix of real, every-day themes represented in fantastical colors and in a naïve style ends up being just perfect.Painting in Solentiname has developed like a craft. Passed down from generation to generation, Primitivist painting is taught by parents to their children and subsequently their grandchildren. The themes never stray from the fantastical depiction of every-day life and the naïve style is ever constant.

Rodolfo Arellano, one of the Solentiname's artist, carefully finishes one of his paintings.

The Arellano family is a good example of this phenomenon. Over six of the family members are painters, the youngest being Hazel, who is 16, and Julio, who just turned 15 years old. In the new Musas Museum, located on the archipelago’s Elvis Chavarría Island, stands a beautiful testament to the Arellano family’s talent. A group effort, the painting, “Vida Silvestre del Archipelago de Solentiname” (Wildlife of the Solentiname Archipelago), depicts the talents of the family’s patriarch, 62-year old Rodolfo Arellano, his wife, Elba Jimenez, and their two daughters, Silvia and Clarrisa Arellano.The work of almost all of Solentiname’s best painters is displayed in the Musas Museum. María Guevara S., (mentioned in the opening of the article), has a collaboration with her gifted sisters, Miriam and Gloria and Esperanza, on exhibit in the museum. Although all of Solentiname’s painters also have other professions, (many are fishermen or farmers, María Guevara runs a small hotel on Elvis Chavarría), they are true artists at heart—Their imagination and passion for painting is evident in all their works. And although most of them lack “formal” visual arts training, they are all masters in their craft.