Alejandro Bonilla (1820-1901)
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Alejandro Bonilla Correa-Cruzado (1820-1901) was a Dominican painter of the early era that defines the national art identity in the Dominican Republic. Born in Santo Domingo, to a Puerto Rican father and a Dominican mother, Bonilla's first art lessons are believed to have taken place in his city of birth, and continued by lessons during his travels to Venezuela during the 1840s.
Today, he is remembered as the first person to paint the image of Juan Pablo Duarte (1813-1876), founding father of the Dominican Republic, and friend of the artist.
Starting in 1868, Bonilla is exiled to Venezuela, where he lives and works as an artist until his return to Santo Domingo in 1874. Upon his return to his city of birth, Bonilla opens a workshop in his home, which survives today as a historical landmark named "La Casa del Pintor" (The Painter's House).
In 1887, Bonilla completed the first of two oil paintings of Duarte, which the artist produced from memory. This first painting was originally shipped to Venezuela where Duarte's family lived. Bonilla's depictions of Duarte were the basis for later paintings and sculptures by Luis Desangles (1861-1940), and Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta (1870-1933).
Paintings by Alejandro Bonilla
"The Port on the Ozama River"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1868
"Port of Santo Domingo"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1875
"Funeral and burial of Sanchez"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1875
"Juan Pablo Duarte"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1887
Supposedly the second of two paintings of Duarte produced by Bonilla in 1887.
"Portrait of Rafael de Marchena and Solá"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1890
"Our Lady of Altagracia"
Oil on canvas, completed in 1895
"Portrait of Fernando Arturo de Meriño"
Oil on canvas, completion date unknown