Gerrit Schouten was a Surinamese artist, who has become famous for his painted papier-maché dioramas of Surinamese life.
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 local black woman, he was an autodidact and taught himself how to paint. Schouten was the first Creole working as a professional artist. 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.