Fernando Llort

Fernando Llort Choussy (born April 7, 1949 in San Salvador, El Salvador) is an internationally recognized Salvadoran artist, called "El Salvador's National Artist" by the Foundation for Self Sufficiency in Central America (now called EcoViva). He is known for teaching the citizens of the small town of La Palma, Chalatenango, how to make a living through art. His style is colorful and often childlike; it can be compared to that of Joan Miró and in some instances to that of Pablo Picasso.

Fernando Llort is the son of Baltasar Llort and Victoria Choussy, the middle child of six (four brothers and a sister); he displayed an artistic inclination since an early age, when his school teachers would pick him to draw maps during geography lessons. After graduating from high-school he obtained an architecture degree from the University of El Salvador.

A restless thirst for new experiences led Llort to pursue his studies in France in 1968. This was an important time for the development of his art, as being abroad strengthened his sense of cultural identity with El Salvador. After France, he studied theology in Lovaina, Belgium. This religious bent can be seen in the symbols present throughout his work—one can almost always see a church, a dove or an all-seeing eye. Later he went to study art in the United States at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.

Upon returning to El Salvador, Llort found a tense climate of political and social unrest in the early rumblings of the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992). To escape this instability, in 1971 he and other young artists moved to the town of La Palma in the northern region of El Salvador, close to the border with Honduras. The simple life he lived in the mountains was a refuge from what was happening throughout the rest of the country, and the daily contact with nature and with the people of La Palma greatly influenced his art. One writer describes its style and motifs thus: "Llort's designs were simple: primary colors mostly, and a kind of two dimensional art. Images of the rural life of the campesino predominated. Animals, birds, flowers, simple adobe houses, with red tile roofs." The same author notes that the themes shifted somewhat over the years that followed: "As the war progressed, and the consciousness of the poor deepened, themes such as the value of women, the importance of community, and the Salvadoran face of God became common."

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