Oil on canvas
Typical of Theard Aladin’s work, this painting captures a view looking downwards at a bustling working class town. In this scene, we see a road running horizontally through the front and then curving vertically up the right side of the painting. Houses sit on to the right of the road and on the left there is a large red and blue castle-like school, surrounded by dark greenery. The building is surrounded by young girls in pink and white uniforms, some of whom are still walking down the path towards the school. Across the path, adults gather, a child rides by on a bicycle, and a vendor pushes a cart. While the scene appears jovial, there are clouds in the sky and the atmosphere is moody. The incongruence between the scene and the atmosphere might leave you with conflicting feelings? What feelings do you have while observing this painting?
Artist Bio: Theard Aladin was born in Jacmel in 1925. He was a cousin to the renowned Haitian painters Prefete Duffaut and Pauleus Vital. For most of his life, Aladin was a stonemason and farmer. At the end of 1983, he injured his back and was unable to continue his trade.
In the fall of 1984 Aladin had a dream that told him that he was an artist. He painted his first painting the following day, and for the next two years he painted in a small house on the Ruelle George in Carrefour.
Theard painted scenes of the lives of working class Haitian, as well as vodou ceremonies and political statements. In 1987 he moved with his family to a small house on a limestone cliff overlooking Carrefour, where he lived and worked until his death in 1993.
