Acrylic on canvas
This painting depicts a busy market scene. In the center of the scene is a vendor with a cart and an umbrella selling “Fresco Bon Sirop,” known in the U.S. as snow cones.The vendor has drawn the attention of the surrounding children. One boy to the right of the vendor carries a kite. Just behind the vendor is a row of women selling fresh produce out of baskets that sit in front of them. The rest of the crowded market scene is occupied by men and women who appear to be moving through the scene; many of the women carry baskets of goods on their heads. Each person is wearing only one or two colors so, while the scene is crowded, each person remains distinct. Do you have memories of moving through a crowded space as a child? What emotions did you feel? Wonder? Overwhelm? What emotion do the children in this painting seem to express?
Artist Bio: S.E. Bottex was born in 1922 in Port Margot in the north of Haiti. After finishing secondary school, Bottex worked as a photographer. Around 1955, encouraged by his older brother, Jean-Baptiste, a well-known Haitian artist, he began to do drawings in color. In 1961 he joined the Centre d'Art, and in 1969 he began to paint in the atelier of the Galerie Issa.
Bottex used bright colors and clear, strong lines to depict biblical, historical and local scenes. His use of strong, curved lines gives his work a unique style.
Living in New Jersey, USA in his later years, Bottex passed away at the age of 93 in 2016.
