Series: The botanic and fanciful universe of Rigaud Benoit

Rigaud Benoit was born in Port-au-Prince, where he started his career in a cigarette factory, then a taxi driver, banjo musician and shoemaker before becoming a painter. He is one of the most important Haitian painters to appear shortly after the opening of the Art Center. From 1948 to 1973, Benoit was a member of the Art Center’s Board of Directors.

Rigaud Benoit’s work is meticulous and thorough, and he does not hesitate to use a magnifying glass when executing small details. He paints scenes of Haitian life, voodoo scenes and religious scenes (Christian and voodoo, sometimes mixing the two together), and some still lifes. He proved to be an exceptional artist in terms of rigor and artistic non-conformism.

Represented in the realization of the series of murals of the Episcopal cathedral, he painted the Nativity above the altar. He prefers scenes with a narrative content, but does not hesitate to bring ambiguous meanings, always with a humorous touch. Benoit’s production of oil paintings is small, limited to less than half a dozen pieces per year.

His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée d’Art Haïtien du Collège Saint Pierre in Port-au-Prince, the Figge Art Museum in Iowa, the Milwaukee Museum of Art and the Waterloo Museum of Art in Iowa.

Follow Benoit online >

✽ Artsy

You liked this article ? Let us know !

TAG :

#Caribeart #CaribbeanArtist #Caribbean #Caribe  #Photography #Videographer #Nature #Dominica #Savanne #Caribbeanemergingartist #Cinematographer #Carnival #Photojournalism #Climatechange #Contemporaryart #History #Caribbeannarrative #Culture #People #Art #Artistes #Artist #Digital #Blog #Magazine #Mag #Webmag #New #English #Espanol