Fernando Llort Choussy
1949–2018 · Salvadoran painter and craftsman, leading figure of the 'estilo palmeño'
Fernando Llort Choussy (San Salvador, 1949 – La Palma, 2018) was a Salvadoran painter and visual artist best known for the 'estilo palmeño', a style of painting and craft born in the town of La Palma, in Chalatenango. He began studies in theology and architecture, but while in France he decided to devote himself to art. His output spans painting, ceramics, sculpture and music.
After periods in Colombia, France, Belgium and the United States, he settled in La Palma in 1972. There he helped build a craft cooperative that worked with copinol seed and pine wood, painted in tempera and varnished. His religious and public commissions, such as the mural on the facade of the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador (1997) and the ensemble 'Abrazo fraterno' (2012), made him a symbol of Salvadoran identity. The cathedral mural was removed in 2011 on the archbishop's orders, a decision the artist called one of the saddest moments of his life.
In 2003 the Legislative Assembly named him 'Hijo meritísimo de El Salvador'. His legacy lives on in the foundation bearing his name and in the method it promotes to foster creativity and community well-being.