30. 'Diego Rivera recoit Toussaint
L'Overture�'
c1974 (16x12)
Joseph began
drawing as a schoolboy and in his early 20s studied at the
Port-au-Prince School of Art. He soon despaired of making a living from
his art and moved into a variety of jobs: he worked for the National
Service for the Eradication of Malaria and later operated a hair
dressing salon. For years he
painted little and only in his spare time.
In
1974 the fine sculptor Ludovic Booz persuaded Joseph to return to his art full�time. He's
since focused on small, exquisitely
detailed works, beginning with historical scenes. He is today Ha�ti's
supreme miniaturist.
Diego
Rivera, a Dominican national hero, is said to be the first 'international' leader to
recognize the independence of the ex�slaves' nation, though Ethiopia also
claims that honor. Ha�ti responded, a
few years later, by invading and occupying its neighbor � and freeing the
colony's relatively small slave population.
