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Jean-Jacques Dessalines (September 20, 1758-October 17, 1806) was the first ruler of an independent Haiti. Behind him stands the revolutionary flag which was made, according to legend, when Dessalines ripped the white out of the French flag and had…

Henri Christophe (October 6, 1767-October 8, 1820) served as a revolutionary general and leader of the State of Haiti, the Northern Provinces that broke off from the rest of the state in 1810. The luxurious hat and chair in the painting reflect the…

Toussaint Louverture (May 20, 1743-April 7, 1803) was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. In his hands Louverture holds the constitution he drafted in 1800 that declared de facto autonomy from France and guaranteed an end to slavery. In response,…

On 14 August 1791, slaves of Saint-Domingue gathered for a vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman. The leader Boukman stands larger than life on the far right and presides over the sacrifice of a black Creole pig to Erzulie Dantor, the mother spirit of…

Sitting atop a hill, Henri Christophe commissioned La Citadelle in 1805. The fortress angular shape emphasized here references a ship's prow, symbolizing Haiti's path-breaking course. The line extending from the rider on the footpath to the clouds…

Painting of people sitting together. One man is playing a drum. There is a woman holding a vessel.

Landscape Scene uses tall trees that frame the corners of the canvas. It draws attention to the Haitian community pictured in the center of the composition. As they line up to visit the local river bank, residents circulate Haiti's fertile…

Chicago based Haitian artist Fritz Millivoix uses lush colors to depict Haiti as a fantastic landscape seducing viewers to think of the island as an idyllic, romanticized place. Look at how he presents the women and men: enjoying family life and…