Domingo Laporte

Domingo Laporte (October 19, 1855 – 1928) was a Uruguayan painter and engraver who gained international recognition and became the first director of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Biography The son of Juanna Saparrat and Hipólito Laporte, he was educated in France and Italy. His teacher was the painter Giovanni Fattori, whose stepdaughter he married. He taught at the Arts and Trades School between 1879 and 1883. In 1889, the school sent him to Italy to recruit teachers for the institution, and at the same time, he was responsible for overseeing all students sent to study in Italy. He returned from Italy in 1896 and, in addition to his work as a painter, he devoted himself to teaching painting and drawing.

He primarily focused on portraiture, although he was also involved in other genres such as landscape and marine painting. The National Museum of Visual Arts houses a collection of engravings using the etching technique, which was introduced to Uruguay by Laporte. This collection includes "Portrait of Giovanni Fattori," "Pines in the Apennines," "Livorno Countryside," "Small Shipyard," "Montevideo Bay," and "Etruscan Theater."

His works are primarily found in the Juan Manuel Blanes Museum, the Ernesto Laroche Museum, and in private galleries and collections in Uruguay. The National Historical Museum also holds his oil paintings "Portrait of Don Juan Lindolfo Cuestas" (1899) and "Portrait of Don José Batlle y Ordóñez" (1903).