During the first years of Cuba as a Spanish colony, very little attention was paid to its cultural development. This was not so with other Spanish colonies, but Cuba was not supported very much economically during the 15th and 16th centuries and therefore national art was very limited. Rather, many paintings were brought over from Spain, especially to decorate the churches.

Many foreign artists also headed for the island. The art that emerged during this time was strictly related to religious themes. Many panel painters began appearing, such as Juan Camargo and Juan de Salas y Argüillo and another related art form that began to develop was saint carving and sculpting.