Prosper Pierre-Louis
Encyclopedia
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 artist, painter; one of the main contributors to the local school of Saint Soleil art movement. His paintings depicting mystical Vodou Loas and spirits are especially noteworthy.
Pierre-Louis was born on October 12, 1947, in Bainet, near Jacmel
Jacmel
Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...
, Haiti. Did not attend any formal schooling, but taught himself playing on drums and the violin. As a child he assisted his father, a 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...
, in preparing Haitian Vodou ceremonies. At age 16 he moved to 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....
. Here he takes a number of odd jobs, when later working as a waiter at the home of Maud Robard joined the "Saint Soleil" peasant commune organized by the latter and which united many poor artists, singers, dancers, craftsmen and painters into the movement. Prosper followed Maude to the community at Soisson-la-Montagne on the mountain above LaBoule and eventually became the most prominent painter in the group.
Saint Soleil group disbanded after only a few years but five of the artists, Prosper, Levoy Exil
Levoy Exil
Levoy Exil , is a master Haitian artist and painter; He is one of the main contributors to the Saint Soleil art movement.Exil's paintings are mystical and abstract and often depict Haitian Vodou Loas, suns and stars, birds, and Marassas...
, Denis Smith
Denis Smith
Denis Smith may refer to:*Denis Smith , played Test cricket for England*Denis Smith , English footballer and football manager* Denis Mack Smith , English historian...
, Dieuseul Paul and Louisiane Saint Fleurant
Louisiane Saint Fleurant
Louisiane Saint Fleurant , was a master Haitian female artist and painter; She was a founder of the peasant Saint Soleil art movement....
reorganized into the group "Cinq Soleils". With years Prosper's technique has greatly evolved and he become a prominent and respected part of the local art community, but his career has stopped abruptly. He died prematurely of an asthma attack in November 1997.
Paintings by Prospere Pierre-Louis have been sold by the Friends of HAS Haiti
Friends of HAS Haiti
Friends of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti is a non-profit organization that aims to support the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti.-External links:**...
to raise funds for the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, located in Deschapelles
Deschapelles
This article refers to a town in Haiti. For the French chess master, see Alexandre Deschapelles.Deschapelles is a town in Haiti, in the Artibonite Valley. Deschapelles is where the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti is located.-External links:*...
. Works by the artist are part of The Olivier Doria d'Angri collection