Galeria botello puerto rico: Galería Botello | Discover Puerto Rico
Galeria Botello, A Hidden Treasure | Lifestyle
Visual surprise is natural in the Caribbean; it comes with the landscape, and faced with its beauty, the sigh of History dissolves.” — Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright
History takes on a new meaning when you have the opportunity to enter Old San Juan’s hidden treasure, Galeria Botello. The gallery has been located at 208 Calle Cristo for 60 years, but the building dates back 375 years. When you enter the premises, your eyes will be drawn to the large Botello sculpture. Juan Botello, the owner and son of the famous Spanish artist Ángel Botello, is always gracious and willing to share his father’s story and the creation of their gallery with visitors who stop by.
Juan took me through the Botello Museo on the second floor of the gallery. The art in the museum is a collaboration of the three children and his mother. Christiane Botello, the wife of Ángel Botello, is still living and working. She lovingly organized her husband’s legacy in chronological order.
Ángel Botello was born in Galicia, Spain in 1913 and died in Puerto Rico in 1986. He worked in many artistic medias: oil paintings, drawing, printmaking, bronze sculptures, wood carving, photography and mosaics. He was named “The Caribbean Gauguin.”
Beginning his career as an architect, he switched to art. He was trained in the school of impressionism in France. Playing with light is a big component of impressionism, so when he moved to the Dominican Republic, he discovered a different type of light and color. This is very apparent when you enter the museum and see the first paintings he did in France and Spain. His style is easy to recognize. The women have extended necks and flat heads.
Juan told me that when Ángel was in Haiti, he noticed that many women carried baskets on their heads. Therefore, he emphasized this in his art and sculpture. He also used dark straight lines to help define his subjects in his paintings. Another feature representative of his style is the red dot that adorns woman and children.
The voodoo religion would brand women and children on their cheeks with a red plant dye, which signifies beauty and purity. His art also expresses his humor. He loved his children and many of his oils are stories about them. One large painting shows Juan’s brother feeling anxious about doing his homework.
There are many niches in the museum that were designed by Ángel to showcase his many “santos,” or wooden statues of saints. He was not a churchgoer, but he felt the “santos” were an important expression of Puerto Rican art. At one time in Puerto Rico’s history, there were different religions taking hold. Missionaries were converting new believers to their faith and having them burn their old bibles and “santos.” Therefore, you may notice some of the “santos” are burned because Ángel rescued them from destruction.
The frames of his paintings are artworks in themselves. He loved to work with wood. Therefore, he designed intricately cut wooden frames to enhance his paintings.
Ángel learned about bronze sculptures when he met Lindsay Daen, another famous sculpture artist in Puerto Rico. Before meeting Daen, Ángel sculpted in cement, wood and clay.
Ángel Botello’s life story is amazing! His sculptures and art are indelible. Juan Botello is giving and loving with the retelling of his father’s journey from Spain, France, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti and finally to Puerto Rico. Why Puerto Rico? Juan explained that the political climate in Haiti where Ángel lived was changing, and he was offered a teaching job in Puerto Rico. How lucky for us that he came here.
A Look Inside Botello Art Gallery
in art in puerto rico
If you’ve ever strolled through Old San Juan, then you know its hard, if not impossible to not take notice of the architecture, museums, galleries and the abundance of ART history at every turn.
Artistic expression has long been a hallmark of not only Puerto Rican culture, but that of almost all of the islands that make up the Caribbean.
Especially amongst those that have experienced historic political and social turbulence. We can take a look as far back as to the original inhabitants of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean — the indigenous Taino and Arawak peoples and their chosen modes of expression through rock carvings and body painting as a way to tell their narratives and preserve traditions.
Fast forward to modern day and we can see that Caribbean art not only preserves ones history and culture, but also serves as a vehicle for many to express frustrations and outrage in response to issues of colonialism, disparity, migration, freedom and basic human rights.
All of which is still alive and well today, with that of the PROMESA bill recently passed in Puerto Rico. Take for example local artist, Rosenda Alvarez who, in response to the bill painted the well known “La Puerta de la Bandera” on Calle San Jose a somber black and white to exhibit a sense of mourning for Puerto Rico and its uncertain future.
This is because oppression causes pain and pain needs an outlet; a release.
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Galeria Botello is located at 208 Calle del Cristo in Old San Juan. Housed in what was once famed artist, Angel Botello’s mansion, its classically preserved with it’s white concrete walls and manages to successfully merge nature with the indoors; which is the embodiment of Caribbean life.
Angel Botello’s artistic life, passions and inspiration(s) resonate with me very deeply. He was born in Galicia, Spain on June 20, 1913. While attending art school in France, he abandoned his studies to serve in the Spanish-Civil war in 1936 by joining the Republican army. Soon after the war, he moved first to the Dominican Republic and then Haiti where he spent 10 years.
It was in Haiti that he met his wife and Art Manager, Christiane Auguste and his life changed forever.
In 1953 Botello and his family relocated to Puerto Rico and opened their first art gallery in the Caribe Hilton Hotel and later, the Galeria Botello in Old San Juan where he lived, created and loved until his death from lung cancer in 1986.
© Lena del Sol Art & Wall Decor 2016
© Lena del Sol Art & Wall Decor 2016
I’m inspired by a number of Artists — Artists that venture beyond the confines of visual art. However, Angel Botello is the epitome of an Artist who managed to identify his purpose, used every ounce of his natural talents and fearlessly used them to transform the lives of others — even right up until his death.
His works include a slew of artistic mediums — oil paintings, drawings, bronze sculptures, photography, mosaics, printmaking and wood carvings.
© Lena del Sol Art & Wall Decor 2016
Nearing the end of his life after his diagnosis’ he’s said to have created a number of pieces depicting his unyielding love for his wife and children. He’s also credited the bright colors and vibrancy of the tropics for opening a new world for him and his creativity.
As a creative being with a sometimes overwhelming desire to expand my practice to include large scale mediums (more specifically, sculptures) but who’s only temporarily limited due to a lack of studio space, I understand how the blissful exploration of one medium only leads to the desire to expand and maximize that feeling of joy that can only be found when creating something seen previously only in the minds eye.