Gerrit Schouten (16 January 1779 – 28 January 1839) was a Surinamese artist, who was known for his painted papier-maché dioramas of Surinamese life.[1]
Schouten was born in Paramaribo, the capital of Surinam, then a Dutch colony. The son of Hendrik Schouten, a Dutch government clerk, and Suzanna Hanssen, a free black woman, he was an autodidact and taught himself how to paint.[2] Schouten was the first Creole working as a professional artist.[3] Many of his dioramas depict dus, dance parties practiced by the black enslaved populations in Suriname. These performances, conducted in the Surinamese creole language Sranan Tongo enabled the groups to exchange information and criticize the colonial regime that enslaved them.
In 1835, he offered a butterfly painting to William, Prince of Orange during his visit to Suriname. Later he was awarded a gold medal by the House of Orange for his artwork.