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THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
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the School of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba, where she directed a private academy using her own methods to
teach drawing. Her work is closely linked to Dominican themes. Her paintings were displayed in the most
important Dominican exhibitions, such as the National Exhibition of 1907, where she obtained the First Prize
for Painting for her romantic oil canvas,
Portrait of a Girl
.
Rafael Arzeno Tavárez
(1914 - 1972). Arzeno is an Italian surname from Liguria.
10
Amusician, painter, and
draftsman, Arzeno Tavárez was born in Puerto Plata, where he studied under the Menard sisters and in Santo
Domingo under Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta. He traveled through the United States and Europe where he
was able to study the great works of the Italian, Spanish, and Flemish Renaissance. In 1942, he founded the San
Rafael School of Painting in Puerto Plata, where several well-known artists, such as Jorge Severino and Rafi
Vásquez, received their initial education. He participated in numerous national exhibitions and competitions.
Margarita Billini de Fiallo
(1909 - 1990). As we have already seen, the surname Billini originates from the
Piedmont region, in the northern part of the Italian peninsula.
11
A painter and draftswoman, she was born in
Santo Domingo and died in the same city. From a young age, she attended the Academy of Drawing, Painting
and Sculpture of Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta, under whom she learned Academic Classicism. Her first solo
exhibition took place in 1971, which portrayed colonial monuments as they were originally built, thus greatly
assisting in subsequent restoration projects. This exhibition was donated to the Dominican Government.
In October 1986, she launched her second exhibition under the title
Homenaje a mi Tierra
(Homage to My
Land) in protest against deforestation. Her third and final solo exhibition,
Tras las Huellas de la Evangelización
(Following the Footsteps of Evangelization), took place in 1990 at the Museo de las Casas Reales under the
patronage of the Permanent Dominican Commission for the Celebration of the Fifth Centennial of the Dis-
covery and Evangelization of the Americas. In this exhibition, she displayed 16 oil paintings that reproduced
the 16 churches initially built in the Dominican Republic during the colonial period.
Billini de Fiallo also exhibited her work in important group exhibitions and biennials, such as Santo Do-
mingo and Art (1978) sponsored by UNESCO. In 1990, the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo asked
her to exhibit as a special guest at the XVII National Biennial of Visual Arts.
Elsa Divanna
(1927 - ?). Elsa Divanna was born in Italy.
12
A painter, draftswoman, and sculptor, she moved
to Santo Domingo where she studied at the George Haussdorf Academy. She then attended the National
School of Fine Arts (ENBA), where she graduated in 1948, winning two prizes: one for painting and the other
for sculpture. From 1950 to 1955, she taught drawing at ENBA, and in 1955 she went to France and Italy for
several years.
Her work depicts women and ancient scenes, landscapes, and still lifes that have affirmed her as a painter
with a solid academic background.
Divanna’s work was shown in numerous individual exhibitions, and she participated in important group
shows, such as the Rio de Janeiro Women’s Exhibition (1948), the First Spanish American Biennial of Madrid
(1951), and the São Paulo Biennial (1951). At the IV National Biennial of 1948, she shared the painting award
with José Vela Zannetti. At the V Biennial of 1950, she received the University of Santo Domingo Award (pres-
ently the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo). In 1969, she presented a retrospective exhibition at the
Cultural Heritage Office, and in 1982 she exhibited in a solo show at the Casa de Bastidas.
Paul Giudicelli Palmieri
(1921 - 1965). Giudicelli is a surname that is found in various regions of Italy.
Paul Giudicelli’s parents were from Corsica.
13
A painter, draftsman, ceramist, and muralist, he was born in San
Pedro de Macorís. He studied at the National School of Fine Arts in Santo Domingo. He had his first solo show
in 1952. Paul Giudicelli was a multidisciplinary talent whose work was groundbreaking in terms of Dominican
modern art. He researched Taíno pictographs and captured the nation’s cultural past in experimental work
focusing on geometric abstraction. Giudicelli, who never left the country, created his own pigments, using a
formula that he referred to as oil-tempera-plastic with which he achieved an earthy surface in his paintings.
Unfortunately, contact with this toxic mixture led to his death from cancer. Abstract Expressionist and Expres-
sionist Geometric were some of the terms he employed to define his work. In researching Taíno pictographs