Jaime Antonio Gumercindo González Colson (13 January 190120 November 1975) was a Dominican

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

painter, writer, and playwright born in Tubagua, Puerto Plata in 1901. He is remembered as one of the most important Dominican artists of the 20th century, and as one of the leading figures of the modernist movement in 20th century Dominican art, along with

Yoryi Morel Jorge Octavio Morel Tavárez (known as Yoryi Morel) was a Dominican Republic, Dominican painter, musician, and teacher born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic; he is remembered as the leading Costumbrismo, costumbrista painter in t ...

, Dario Suro, and

Celeste Woss y Gil Celeste Agustina Woss y Gil (5 May 1891 – 1985) was a Dominican 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 president ...

. His travels to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the early 20th century led to his experimenting with

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and other

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

styles.Danilo de los Santos. Memoria de la Pintura Dominicana. (Colección Centenario Grupo León Jimenes) 8v: vol 2. Grupo León Jimenes. Santo Domingo, 2003. pg 300 He struck up friendships with artists like Maruja Mallo,

Rafael Barradas Rafael Pérez Giménez Barradas (4 January 1890 in Montevideo – 12 February 1929 in Montevideo), was an Uruguayan modernist painter and graphic artist who worked in Spain. Biography His parents were immigrants from Spain. His older sister, C ...

and

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

in Spain, and in Paris, came to know

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

, masters of the cubist school that influenced his style. In 1934, he decided to leave

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to teach art, where he befriended artists like

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquei ...

and

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

. After leaving Mexico in 1938, Colson became professor at the art academy in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to teach his "cubismo neo-humanista". The Cuban artist Mario Carreño was one of his pupils. In May 1938, Colson held an art exhibition for the first time in his country, 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 ...

, at that time, Ciudad Trujillo.^Ibid. pg 52 Years later, dictator

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

would go on to appoint him Director of the School of Fine Arts in 1950. Colson would go on to resign less than two years later as a result of the repressive regime. Colson's art has mostly been described as Cubist, Surrealist, and Neohumanist. He is best known for his development of Neohumanismo (or Neohumanism) and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

cubism or Afro-cubism. His most notable works include Merengue (1938), and his series Figuras Metafisicas (1930). Colson also wrote poetry and theatrical works. Colson was a devoted Catholic his entire life and married his companion, Toyo Kurimoto, of Japan, in a Catholic ceremony. He died of throat cancer in Santo Domingo on November 20, 1975. Many of his works are displayed in the

Museo Bellapart The Museo Bellapart is a free private art museum in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic specifically in located at the corner of Av. John F. Kennedy founded in 1999 and is situated inside of a car dealership. It was initially founded by Juan Jos� ...

in Santo Domingo.

Early life and education

Colson was born in Tubagua,

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Puerto Plata, officially known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata; () is a major coastal city in the Dominican Republic, and capital of the Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province of Puerto Plata (province), Puerto Plata. The city is a major trad ...

on 13 January 1901, to parents Antonio González, a Spanish merchant, and Juana María Colson Tradwell, who was born in Puerto Plata and was the daughter of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

immigrants. His maternal grandparents were Henry Colson and Mary Eliza Tradwell,

Anglo-American Anglo-American can refer to: * the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world) * Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America ** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America * Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a ...

immigrants from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He received his early education in Santo Domingo, and showed an interest in art at an early age. Following the encouragement of his mother, Colson travelled to Barcelona in 1919 to study art. There he studied at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts under the tutelage of painters Cecilio Pla,

Julio Romero de Torres Julio Romero de Torres (9 November 1874 – 10 May 1930) was a Spanish painter. His brothers, Rafael and , also became painters. Biography He was the son of Rafael Romero Barros, a painter who served as Director of the Fine Arts Museum o ...

, and Pedro Carbonell. During this time the young Jaime González Colson decided to go by his maternal surname and drop his paternal surname, considering it too common. His earliest works were influenced by

Noucentisme Noucentisme (, ''noucentista'' being its adjective) was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almos ...

, the prevailing artistic and literary aesthetic in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

at the time, as well other avant-garde movements of the era. In 1920, he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and from 1920 to 1923, he attended the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid, where he took classes with

José Moreno Carbonero José Moreno Carbonero (Spanish: o'se mo'reno karbo'nero 24 March 1858 – 15 April 1942) was a Spanish painter and decorator. A prominent member of the Málaga School of Painting, he is considered one of the last great history painters of ...

, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastidas, and José Garnelo. After his formative years in Madrid, he returned to Barcelona where he was presented at the Real Círculo Artístico, by Santiago Rusinol and Joaquin Terruella Matilla. He lived 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 ...

from 1924 to 1934, where he discovered the works of

and

Giorgio De Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

, which greatly influenced his paintings from the 30's-40's. During this time, Colson dove deeper into Cubist and Surrealist aesthetics, evoking a return to the classic and an irreality.

Artistic career

Colson suffered economic hardships in Paris and sales of his works were minimal. Following suggestions from Dominican writer

Pedro Henríquez Ureña Pedro Henríquez Ureña (June 29, 1884 – May 11, 1946) was a Dominican essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic. Biography Early works Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings. He ...

and Mexican poet Maples Arce, he left for Mexico in 1934 with hopes of improving his situation; there, Colson held a personal exhibition, sponsored by the Secretary of Education and began teaching at the Workers' School of Art. During this period, Colson also devoted himself to illustration, such as in the book ''Eco'' by the poet and friend

Elías Nandino Elías Nandino (April 19, 1900 – October 3, 1993) was a Mexican poet. Biography Nandino was born in Cocula, Jalisco. As a boy, he was brought up in the Catholic religion and served as an altar boy. He also attended Catholic school. Nandino's ...

, published in 1934, whose black and white surrealistic illustrations of male torsos and genitalia, bleeding wounds and mutilated organs were celebrated at the time. In Mexico, Colson befriended María Izquierdo, José Gorostiza,

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

Wifredo Lam Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by ...

and his Cuban student, Mario Carreño. In 1938, Colson left Mexico, traveling to Havana, Cuba, accompanied by Mario Carreño. He lived and taught there for a few months, and held an art exhibition, before shortly returning to his native country after twenty years of absence. On May 26, 1938, Colson arrived in Santo Domingo and held his first exhibition in the country at the Dominican Athenaeum Soon after arriving, he was commissioned by the Trujillo government for a portrait of the dictator. Though Colson insisted on doing it from life, he had only one interview with the Trujillo before never meeting again. His first sketch which portrayed Trujillo too realistically, that is, presenting him as the

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

that he was, was rejected. Colson immediately restarted but ultimately never finished the portrait. Convinced that his artistic career would be stifled under such a repressive regime, Colson decided to return to Paris in 1938.Danilo de los Santos. Memoria de la Pintura Dominicana. (Colección Centenario Grupo León Jimenes) 8v: vol 2. Grupo León Jimenes. Santo Domingo, 2003. pg 55 The next year in Paris he exhibited at the prestigious Berheim-Jeune Gallery ten paintings and drawings, with artists Mario Carreño and Max Jiménez. However, as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Colson relocated to Barcelona. There, he completed numerous works including a set of murals on the island of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. In 1950, Colson returned to Dominican Republic and became director of the National School of Fine Arts. However, in 1952 he resigned from his post without having served two years in office. Following his resignation, Colson illustrated the Dominican author Tomás Hernández Franco’s book ''Cibao'', with drawings portraying the daily life of cibaeños. He also made a well-known portrait of him there.^ Ibid. pg 87 In 1957 he traveled to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, to hold an exhibition. Colson had already presented his work in Venezuela at the Valencia International Painting Exhibition, which was held in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of its founding. On this occasion he had brought a multitude of works to be shown at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas, however, after the interviews in the press announcing the exhibition, the general director of Fine Arts did not approve Colson’s works. The reason is unknown, possibly due to political issues, including the animosity of the Venezuelan government against Trujillo. Afterwards, Colson practically fled to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

with very few works, leaving behind a huge collection of paintings to the ambassador of his country, Brea Messina, including the entire series of "La Catharsis" and the best of his period of "reviving cubism" that have largely disappeared.^ Ibid. pg 89

Style

Colson’s works blend Cubism, Surrealism,

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

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

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

into a style described as Neohumanism that he became known for. During his years in Paris, Colson got to know the work of Giorgio De Chirico and Pablo Picasso who were two of his biggest influences. The influence of the De Chirico can be seen in his works from the 30s and 40s, in the use of perspective and scenography, themes towards the

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

and surrealist, the return to the classical, unreal atmospheres, and the reinterpretations of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

.Colson, Jaime, Chicuri A. Mena, María Ugarte, Marianne . Tolentino, and Ricardo R. Jarne. ''Colson Errante:

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

. The mystery and loneliness that emanate from De Chirico's paintings can also be seen in Colson’s work. In addition, Colson was influenced by the readings of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), whose dream analysis had an impact on Colson’s more surrealistic paintings. Religious or mystical themes were also repeatedly explored in his various ecclesiastical murals and paintings, representing biblical and hagiographic subjects like ''El compte Arnau'', one of his most colorful and famous works. Other works include ''Baquiní y la ciguapa del Camú'' from 1949, which shows a ritual wake for a dead infant. Colson in his 1962 painting ''Los heroes de la calle Espaillat'', not only perfectly captures all his evolution, from cubism, religious painting, fresco painting and neo-humanism, but also, due to its theme, delves into the social and the political environment of the time, that paid tribute to the student revolutionaries who were arrested, tortured, and killed by the dictatorship, on October 20, 1961.

Death

He dedicated the final years of his life to continuing his work and teaching the techniques of mural painting. Colson died of

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

on November 20 1975, aged 74; he suffered from throat cancer because of his assiduous smoking habit. He was married to Japanese painter and sculptor Toyo Yutaka Karimoto. A retrospective of his work was held at

in Santo Domingo in 2008.

Gallery

File:Jaime Colson Fiesta.jpg, Fiesta de Guachupita. Jaime Colson . Memoria de la Pintura Dominicana File:Jaime Colson Merengue.jpg File:Jaime Colson Sueño.jpg File:Jaime Colson Figuras Metafísicas.jpg File:Jaime Colson sin titulo 1943.jpg File:Jaime Colson Compte Arnau.jpg File:Jaime Colson Reminiscencias.jpg File:Jaime Colson sin título.jpg File:Jaime Colson Anunciación.jpg

References

* Staff (undated)
"Jaime Colson 1901–1975"
(in

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 ...

. Retrieved August 24, 2013. * *

External links

Colson exhibition catalog
(

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

format)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colson, Jaime 1901 births 1975 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Dominican Republic painters Male painters 20th-century male artists Dominican Republic male artists 20th-century Dominican Republic poets Deaths from cancer in the Dominican Republic Deaths from laryngeal cancer Dominican Republic expatriates in France Dominican Republic expatriates in Spain Dominican Republic male poets Dominican Republic dramatists and playwrights Dominican Republic people of English descent Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Male dramatists and playwrights Modern painters People from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic artists White Dominicans