B. 1901
D. 1982
Leo Basso was a self-taught artist, painting in a naive style depicting the life of rural Trinidad and Tobago.
His paintings show the ethnic diversity of the country and scenes from the everyday life of its inhabitants and are highly imaginative.
Leo Basso was influenced by artist Pierre LeLong. He is a foundation member and first vice-president of the Trinidad Art Society. His works were shown regularly in exhibitions here. He has also exhinited in the USA, UK and the Caribbean.
Basso was a sensitive genre painter who worked in a primitive style- indeed he might be considered a leader in this school. Even at an advanced age, Basso vividly created pictures with the realism of historical events as he recalled them.
Leo Basso worked from his studio on Bank Hill off Waterman Road in Belmont. A devout Catholic, he called it "St. Luke's Art Studio" after his patron saint. When Basso worked at night, he did so by the light of a kerosene lamp, never having been able to afford electricity.
As a child, Basso learned about art through the blackboard drawings of Phillip John, a teacher at Basso's school. In his teens he became involved in Carnival. He and his partner, Marcus Dickenson, designed and led the 'Melodious Clown Band' from Belmont. "I was the first to wear the 'Prince Crown.' Not the 'Pierrot,' but a real Prince with a hat and a cloak and a sword," Basso says. He had always wished to paint, but after he left school, he was persuaded by his father to become apprenticed as a solicitor's clerk in a law office.
Basso's greatest influence was Pierre Lelong, the French Neo-Impressionist painter, who was active in the Trinidad Art Society in the late 1940s. Lelong later described Basso as "the only artist in Trinidad with a sense of color." Basso's greatest patron was Lelong's brother-in-law, Henri Salvatori. Basso was a frequent visitor to Salvatori's offices, paintings under his arm to try to sell his work. Although he was one of Trinidad's leading businessmen, the generous Salvatori would never refuse to see him nor would he refuse to take his paintings. As a result, the Salvatori family owns an extensive and impressive collection of Basso's work.
Basso was the first to break the social barriers surrounding the Trinidad Art Society in the early years and to gain respect for intuitive expression. He became an important member of the Society by assisting in management and counseling other artists. Although he influenced many artists, his work remained unique.
Despite not being able to afford the best materials, Basso painted in oils with heavy, lush brush strokes and in vibrant colors which seemed never to dull nor fade. His subjects were always of the Trinidad of long ago or symbols of a colonial past in which he felt comfortable. In several of his paintings, there is a strong feeling of nostalgia.
Basso's style is intuitive. Noel Vaucrosson says, "I admire his use of color, his organization of his canvas, and the way he plans things, all self-taught. He 'feels' his colors ... It is instinctive." In 1981, Nina Squires described him as "a venerable father figure ... He is the most revered member of the Trinidad Art Society. His work is very exciting to me. I admire the consistency of his work."
Basso listed Picasso and Alfred Codallo as the artists he admired most. "Picasso, because he is a genius; Codallo, because he was the best and greatest Trinidadian artist."
Exhibitions
- Works exhibited and collected throughout Trinidad and Tobago
