Miguel Pou
Encyclopedia
Miguel Pou y Becerra was a Puerto Rican oil canvas painter. He was a painter
, draftsman
, and professor
. Together with José Campeche
and Francisco Oller
, he has been called "one of Puerto Rico's greatest masters." He was an exposer of the impressionist
movement. During his life he carried out 64 expositions, of which 17 were solo. He won five gold medals.
, on August 24, 1880, to Juan Bautista Pou Carreras and Margarita Becerra Julbe. Pou took drawing and painting lessons in Ponce. He began drawing with Pedro Clausells and painting with Spaniard
Santiago Meana.
from the Provincial Institute of Ponce in 1898, he worked as a teacher with the Department of Education. He became a public school teacher at age 20. He became assistant superintendent in the Ponce School District in 1900.
In 1906, he completed the methodology course in teaching drawing at the Hyannis Normal School
(now the Hyannis State Teachers College) in Massachusetts, United States. In 1909, he became director of the Dr. Rafael Pujals
School in Ponce. He also married in 1909, to Ana Valldejuly.
and in 1935 at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts
. Miguel Pou studied painting and drawing intensively and also taught art.
Among his pupils are: Epifanio Irizarry, José R. Alicea, and José Manuel Cintrón Pou.
Among his disciples are also Olga Albizu, Horacio Castaign, Rafael Ríos Rey, and Luis Quero Chiesa.
. He painted Puerto Rican landscapes and jibaro
-type paintings. Pou did not have a political statement to make. He wanted to capture the ideal of what a jibaro
or jibara was. He painted the beauty both physical and spiritual that the people and the land had. "His work is considered impressionistic because of his use of a palette of colors and of light, although he presented reality as he saw it, without softening or exaggerating it. Nevertheless, he is a painter of the realist school
because of his effort to depict Puerto Rican reality."
He liked to portray what the artist called regional types. In terms of subject matter, he wished to reflect the soul of the Puerto Rican people and a way of life he feared was being blown by the wind of modernity. His best work was local, embracing the land, its people, and their customs. Like Campeche and Oller before him, Pou helped to define the national character of Puerto Rico during his lifetime, and he added to Puerto Rico's artistic tradition in equally important ways.
According to the Worcester Art Museum
, "Miguel Pou... shows thorough command of the concerns of the Ashcan school
, and applied it to the depiction of local types." The importance he places on light and color in his paintings reflects the influence of impressionism. He was inspired by the rural and urban landscapes, popular characters, and the human figure.
, and in Madrid
and Barcelona
.
Outstanding paintings by Pou are:
There is a reproduction of Los Coches de Ponce at the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Some of his works are in permanent exhibition in the Puerto Rican Artists Gallery at the Museo de Arte de Ponce.
In addition to exhibiting his work on the island, he participated in collective exhibitions such as the Paris Colonial Exhibition (1931), the National Exhibition of American Art in New York (1938), and the Second Biennial Exhibition of Spanish American Art in Madrid (1951). The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
held a retrospective exhibition of his work in 1957.
Among the prizes he was awarded were two gold medals in the Ponce Progressive League competition for his works Los Coches de Ponce and Retrato a Pluma del tío Ramón (1914), a medal and certificate of honor from the Puerto Rican Athenaeum
for his work El tío Ramón (1924) and a gold medal for his contributions to the culture of Puerto Rico from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (1960).
Today, some of his works can be seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art
in San Juan, at the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art at the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus and at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art
.
In Ponce there is a major thoroughfare
named after Miguel Pou. The boulevard is the most popular entrance to the Ponce historic district
, and leads from the intersection of PR-1
and PR-2
into the center of the city.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, draftsman
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. Together with José Campeche
José Campeche
José Campeche , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by many as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas.-Early years:...
and Francisco Oller
Francisco Oller
Francisco Manuel Oller y Cestero was a Puerto Rican visual artist. Oller is considered to be the only Latin American painter to have played a role in the development of Impressionism.-Early years:...
, he has been called "one of Puerto Rico's greatest masters." He was an exposer of the impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
movement. During his life he carried out 64 expositions, of which 17 were solo. He won five gold medals.
Early years
Miguel Pou was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, on August 24, 1880, to Juan Bautista Pou Carreras and Margarita Becerra Julbe. Pou took drawing and painting lessons in Ponce. He began drawing with Pedro Clausells and painting with Spaniard
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Santiago Meana.
Schooling and career work
After receiving a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the Provincial Institute of Ponce in 1898, he worked as a teacher with the Department of Education. He became a public school teacher at age 20. He became assistant superintendent in the Ponce School District in 1900.
In 1906, he completed the methodology course in teaching drawing at the Hyannis Normal School
Hyannis State Teachers College
The Hyannis State Teachers College is a former college located in Barnstable, Massachusetts. It operated under various names from 1897 to 1944. It operated as the Hyannis State Normal School from 1897 to 1932 and the Hyannis State Teachers College from 1932–1944...
(now the Hyannis State Teachers College) in Massachusetts, United States. In 1909, he became director of the Dr. Rafael Pujals
Rafael Pujals
Dr. Rafael Pujals Cárdenas was a late 19th century Puerto Rican physician practicing in Ponce, Puerto Rico that excelled as a civic leader.-Physician:...
School in Ponce. He also married in 1909, to Ana Valldejuly.
Art school
In 1910 he established the Miguel Pou Academy in Ponce, an art school that stimulated numerous youngsters to develop an interest in art. He directed his school for the next forty years, until 1950. He was very much admired for his artistic works in Puerto Rico. In 1919 he briefly interrupted his presence at the art school to further his studies. In that year he studied in the United States at the Art Students League in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and in 1935 at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
. Miguel Pou studied painting and drawing intensively and also taught art.
Among his pupils are: Epifanio Irizarry, José R. Alicea, and José Manuel Cintrón Pou.
Among his disciples are also Olga Albizu, Horacio Castaign, Rafael Ríos Rey, and Luis Quero Chiesa.
Style and characteristics
Miguel Pou's style was generally impressionisticImpressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. He painted Puerto Rican landscapes and jibaro
Jíbaro
Jíbaro is a term from the Taíno words "jiba" and "ro", that means forest people, commonly used in Puerto Rico to refer to mountain-dwelling peasants, but in modern times it has gained a broader cultural meaning.-History:...
-type paintings. Pou did not have a political statement to make. He wanted to capture the ideal of what a jibaro
Jíbaro
Jíbaro is a term from the Taíno words "jiba" and "ro", that means forest people, commonly used in Puerto Rico to refer to mountain-dwelling peasants, but in modern times it has gained a broader cultural meaning.-History:...
or jibara was. He painted the beauty both physical and spiritual that the people and the land had. "His work is considered impressionistic because of his use of a palette of colors and of light, although he presented reality as he saw it, without softening or exaggerating it. Nevertheless, he is a painter of the realist school
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
because of his effort to depict Puerto Rican reality."
He liked to portray what the artist called regional types. In terms of subject matter, he wished to reflect the soul of the Puerto Rican people and a way of life he feared was being blown by the wind of modernity. His best work was local, embracing the land, its people, and their customs. Like Campeche and Oller before him, Pou helped to define the national character of Puerto Rico during his lifetime, and he added to Puerto Rico's artistic tradition in equally important ways.
According to the Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 35,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day, representing cultures from all over the world. The WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the second largest art museum in New England...
, "Miguel Pou... shows thorough command of the concerns of the Ashcan school
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, is defined as a realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods. The movement grew out of a group...
, and applied it to the depiction of local types." The importance he places on light and color in his paintings reflects the influence of impressionism. He was inspired by the rural and urban landscapes, popular characters, and the human figure.
Paintings
Pou’s works have been exhibited in many Puerto Rican towns, in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
.
Outstanding paintings by Pou are:
- Los Coches de Ponce (Horse Drawn Carriages in Ponce) [1926]
- La Promesa (The Vow) [1928]
- La Calle Loiza (Loiza Street)
- La Catedral de PoncePonce CathedralThe Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe or simply, Ponce Cathedral, is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce located in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico. The cathedral lies in the middle of Ponce's town square, known as Plaza Las Delicias, located at the center of the Ponce Historic...
(The Ponce Cathedral).
There is a reproduction of Los Coches de Ponce at the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Some of his works are in permanent exhibition in the Puerto Rican Artists Gallery at the Museo de Arte de Ponce.
Recognitions
Pou's work has been recognized in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Paris.In addition to exhibiting his work on the island, he participated in collective exhibitions such as the Paris Colonial Exhibition (1931), the National Exhibition of American Art in New York (1938), and the Second Biennial Exhibition of Spanish American Art in Madrid (1951). The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture , or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico...
held a retrospective exhibition of his work in 1957.
Among the prizes he was awarded were two gold medals in the Ponce Progressive League competition for his works Los Coches de Ponce and Retrato a Pluma del tío Ramón (1914), a medal and certificate of honor from the Puerto Rican Athenaeum
Puerto Rican Athenaeum
The Puerto Rican Athenaeum —or Ateneo Puertorriqueño in Spanish— is one of Puerto Rico's chief cultural institutions. It was founded in 1876.The Athenaeum serves as a museum, school, library, and performance hall for the greater Puerto Rico...
for his work El tío Ramón (1924) and a gold medal for his contributions to the culture of Puerto Rico from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (1960).
Today, some of his works can be seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art
Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art
The Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, often abbreviated to MAC, is a contemporary art museum in Santurce, Puerto Rico.-History:...
in San Juan, at the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art at the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus and at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art
Puerto Rico Museum of Art
The Museum of Art of Puerto Rico is one of the most prestigious art museums in Puerto Rico.-History:...
.
Legacy
Miguel Pou Becerra died in 1968.In Ponce there is a major thoroughfare
Thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a place of transportation intended to connect one location to another. Highways, roads, and trails are examples of thoroughfares used by a variety of general traffic. On land a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a rough trail to multi-lane highway with grade separated...
named after Miguel Pou. The boulevard is the most popular entrance to the Ponce historic district
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
, and leads from the intersection of PR-1
Puerto Rico Highway 1
Puerto Rico Highway 1 connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road follows somewhat parallel along the southern coast of the island and, at Salinas, it turns north to cut through the Cordillera Central in its approach to San Juan....
and PR-2
Puerto Rico Highway 2
Puerto Rico Highway 2, the longest highway in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico at about 156 miles long, connects San Juan to Ponce....
into the center of the city.
External links
- See the painting Los Coches de Ponce (1926) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting La Promesa (1928) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting Vendedor de Hamacas (1938) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting A Race of Dreamers - Portrait of Ciquí (1938) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting My Son Jaime (Mi hijo Jaime) (1927) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting La Piquiña (1949) here, by Miguel Pou
- See the painting Self Portrait (1941) here, by Miguel Pou
- ArteFoundation, Jose R. Alicea, one of Pou's students