Artwork Page for General Toussaint L'Ouverture

Details / Information for General Toussaint L'Ouverture

Series Title: The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture

General Toussaint L'Ouverture

1986

Jacob Lawrence

(American, 1917–2000)
printer

Lou Stovall Workshop, Inc.

publisher

Amistad Research Center

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Culture
America
Medium
silkscreen on paper
Measurements
Sheet: 81.6 x 55.9 cm (32 1/8 x 22 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of Gordon Gund 2019.79.6
Copyright
© The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Jacob Lawrence reinterpreted a series of paintings to make these prints, changing their forms, composition, colors, and scale—a process that he described as “another creative step.”

Description

These prints reinterpret a series of paintings that African American artist Jacob Lawrence made about Toussaint L’Ouverture, a Haitian revolutionary. Born into slavery, L’Ouverture led an uprising that freed Haiti from European rule. After hearing the story as a young man and being struck that it had been omitted from his formal education, Lawrence began to paint episodes from L’Ouverture’s biography, using bright colors and simple forms to evoke its drama.
A vertically oriented silkscreen of simple forms, dominated by reds, greens, and grays, depicts a profile portrait of General Toussaint L'Ouverture. A man with a dark skin tone, he wears an ornate red coat with gold embroidery and a gold epaulette. A white cravat and zigzagged sash cross his chest. His large red hat is topped with white plumes, revealing a gray wig below. He stands against a flat, dark green background.

General Toussaint L'Ouverture

1986

Jacob Lawrence, Lou Stovall Workshop, Inc., Amistad Research Center

(American, 1917–2000)
America

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