Fernando Llort: One of the Greatest Salvadorean artists

Andrea is the artist in the class. She decorates her tests with cartoons - they are priceless. I can't wait to see what she does with her talent. Here is her profile of one of her heroes:

When ever I am traveling outside of El Salvador, I meet people who ask me where I’m from. And, as expected, after my answer there comes a “Where is that?” Through the years, I have become used to knowing that many people don’t have any clue as to where El Salvador is located, so I don’t care anymore. W,ell not as much as I used to. Nevertheless, I am still very troubled and annoyed when people give little importance to El Salvador’s art, for it is something that tells a lot about who we are, the changes we as a country are going through, and the culture that we are a part of. One of the best examples if the art of Fernando Llort.

The crib of El Salvador’s art is a town in the north called La Palma, in the department of Chalatenango. La Palma is a serene place surrounded by woods and mountains, which became the birth place of Fernando Llort’s artwork. He was one of the first Salvadorean artists who truly wanted to expand our artistic culture. When he came back from his studies in Germany, Llort went back to La Palma. There he developed his own artistic style which, in my opinion, truly captivates El Salvador’s essence. His inspiration for this style was centered on the seed of the “Copinol” tree. He soon founded an art studio made up himself, his wofe and ten other people. He called the studio “La semilla de Dios” (the seed of God). Later on, he also set up a gallery called “El Arbol de Dios” (the tree of God).

In time, Fernando Llort’s art gained popularity. In March of 1983, he was asked to arrange the altar where Pope John Paul II gave mass on his visit to El Salvador. This was a great honor for him, for he was and still is a very spiritual man. Another religious assignment was given later to him: the decoration of the Metropolitan Cathedral of El Salvador. This assignment took Llort and his team around a year to finish, for he painted the murals on the great Cathedral with a passion that became even greater because of his spirituality. Llort has become one of El Salvador's most known artists, with works displayed in the White House, various museums in New York, and the Vatican.

Images of his work:

http://www.salvaide.ca/Images/Fernando%20Llort%20Framed.jpg

http://web.mac.com/fernanllort/fernando-llort_%28e%29/My_Special_Moments_files/Catedral_SanSalvador.jpg