Hector Hyppolite
Encyclopedia
Hector Hyppolite was a Haiti
an painter. Born in Saint-Marc
, Hyppolite was a third generation Vodou priest, or houngan
. He also made shoes and painted houses before taking up fine art painting, which he did untrained. Hyppolite spent five years outside of Haiti from 1915-1920. Although he later claimed those years had been spent in Africa, scholars regard that as more likely an instance of promotional myth-making than factual.
Hyppolite's talent as an artist was noticed by Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, who brought him to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince
in 1945. There Hyppolite worked in the studio run by Dewitt Peters, a watercolorist and schoolteacher from the United States who had come to Haiti to teach the English language as part of the Good Neighbor Policy
. In 1944 Peters opened an art center in the capital that provided free materials. Before arriving at the Centre d'Art Hyppolite had painted upon cardboard using chicken feathers and sold to visiting United States Marines because he owned no brushes. Peters had first noticed Hyppolite's work in 1943 on the exterior doors of a bar in Mont Ruis, which Hyppolite had painted with flower and bird designs. Flowers could represent attributes of deities in Vodou symbolism, and although the doors had not been explicitly religious Hyppolite recognized interest in Vodou among art buyers and incorporated Vodou themes into his work during his time at Peters's studio.
André Breton
, a leading surrealist, traveled to Haiti in 1945 with Cuban artist Wifredo Lam
. Lam purchased two of Hyppolite's paintings; Breton purchased five paintings and wrote about Hyppolite's work in Surrealism and Painting. Although Breton included Hyppolite among surrealists, Hyppolite's work was more realistic and religious than an effort to reproduce dream imagery. Nonetheless, Breton's regard for Hyppolite's work brought Hyppolite and Haitian painting to a wider audience. In January 1947 Hyppolite exhibited at a UNESCO
exhibition in Paris
and received an enthusiastic reception. The United States writer Truman Capote
praised Hyppolite's painting "because there's nothing in it that has been slyly transposed".
Hyppolite, a prolific painter, typically depicted Vodou scenes and created between 250 and 600 paintings during the last three years of his life. He died at about age 54 in Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince
.
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an painter. Born in Saint-Marc
Saint-Marc
Saint-Marc is a coastal port town in western Haiti in the Artibonite Department. Its geographic coordinates are . At the 2003 Census the municipality had 160,181 inhabitants....
, Hyppolite was a third generation Vodou priest, or houngan
Houngan
Houngan is the term for a male priest in the voodoo religion in Haiti . The term is derived from the Fon word "hùn gan". There are two ranks of houngan, houngan asogwe and houngan sur pwen...
. He also made shoes and painted houses before taking up fine art painting, which he did untrained. Hyppolite spent five years outside of Haiti from 1915-1920. Although he later claimed those years had been spent in Africa, scholars regard that as more likely an instance of promotional myth-making than factual.
Hyppolite's talent as an artist was noticed by Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, who brought him to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
in 1945. There Hyppolite worked in the studio run by Dewitt Peters, a watercolorist and schoolteacher from the United States who had come to Haiti to teach the English language as part of the Good Neighbor Policy
Good Neighbor policy
The Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. Its main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America...
. In 1944 Peters opened an art center in the capital that provided free materials. Before arriving at the Centre d'Art Hyppolite had painted upon cardboard using chicken feathers and sold to visiting United States Marines because he owned no brushes. Peters had first noticed Hyppolite's work in 1943 on the exterior doors of a bar in Mont Ruis, which Hyppolite had painted with flower and bird designs. Flowers could represent attributes of deities in Vodou symbolism, and although the doors had not been explicitly religious Hyppolite recognized interest in Vodou among art buyers and incorporated Vodou themes into his work during his time at Peters's studio.
André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
, a leading surrealist, traveled to Haiti in 1945 with Cuban artist Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla , better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture...
. Lam purchased two of Hyppolite's paintings; Breton purchased five paintings and wrote about Hyppolite's work in Surrealism and Painting. Although Breton included Hyppolite among surrealists, Hyppolite's work was more realistic and religious than an effort to reproduce dream imagery. Nonetheless, Breton's regard for Hyppolite's work brought Hyppolite and Haitian painting to a wider audience. In January 1947 Hyppolite exhibited at a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
exhibition in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and received an enthusiastic reception. The United States writer Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
praised Hyppolite's painting "because there's nothing in it that has been slyly transposed".
Hyppolite, a prolific painter, typically depicted Vodou scenes and created between 250 and 600 paintings during the last three years of his life. He died at about age 54 in Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
.