Rafael Monasterio: Landscape designer who captured the beauty of 20th century Venezuela (+birthday)

On November 22, 1884 , Rafael Monasterio, a landscape expert in the plastic arts who helped to create the movement called Escuela de Caracas, was born in Barquisimeto, Lara State.

His great works, such as: Desde la Quebrada Guárico, were characterized by capturing the strength and character of the nature of our country.

In his youth, Monasterio dedicated himself as a soldier in the Liberating Revolution. After defeating the insurrectionist movement, he returned to Barquisimeto, where he worked as a teacher of painting and drawing, scenographer of zarzuelas and a cigarette packer. Until in 1908 he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Caracas, where he was awarded a scholarship and in 1911 he embarked to Spain in the company of Armando Reverón to enroll in the Barcelona School of Arts and Crafts.

At the outbreak of the First World War, he returned to Venezuela and did a series of jobs, most notably that of painting furniture and cars with a fat brush. In the same way, during this time he had the opportunity to decorate the dome of the Cabudare temple and the house of Pio Tamayo.

Monasterio held several exhibitions of his works, some individually and others in the company of artists such as Reverón. Consequently, between 1938 and 1942, he won the Painting Prize at the Official Salon of Venezuelan Art and dedicated himself to teaching as founder and director of the art schools of Barquisimeto and Maracaibo. Currently, the Barquisimeto School of Plastic Arts bears his name, as he is considered one of the main landscape artists of the Venezuelan visual arts of the 20th century.

Mazo News Team