Henri Christophe Roi D'Haiti (Henry Christophe, King of Haiti)

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Henri Christophe Roi D'Haiti (Henry Christophe, King of Haiti)
Henri Christophe Roi D'Haiti (Henry Christophe, King of Haiti)
Artist/Maker (Haitian, 1893 - 1977)
Dateearly 1960s
MediumOil on masonite
DimensionsOverall: 44.1 × 35.1 cm (17 3/8 × 13 13/16 in.) Frame: 54 × 45.4 × 3.5 cm (21 1/4 × 17 7/8 × 1 3/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Richard F. Plotka, Class of 1956
Object number1981.13
Not on view
DescriptionHenry Christophe was a leader in the war of Haitian independence (1791–1804) and later president (1807–11) and self-proclaimed King Henry I (1811–20) of northern Haiti. Here he is shown in a red uniform riding a white horse down a rocky green hill in front of a fort/town. After the spirit of the French Revolution spread to Haiti, Christophe in 1793 openly embraced the party of the Haitian independence leader Toussaint Louverture and became one of his chief lieutenants, fighting the French, the British, and the Spaniards. He later joined Jean-Jacques Dessalines in ousting the French and commanded the army under that ruler. After Dessalines’s assassination he was appointed provisional chief of the nation by a military council. Alexandre Sabès Pétion, Christophe’s only rival for power, secured control in the south and west. In northern Haiti, Christophe set up his own domain, which he ruled as King Henry I from 1811 and for which he created a hereditary nobility comprising 4 princes, 8 dukes, 22 counts, 37 barons, and 14 knights. He established an elaborate dress code and court ceremony and built himself eight palaces and six châteaus. During his reign he distributed plantations to military chiefs, restored soldier peasants to their former occupations, and maintained a general prosperity. He built the famous Citadelle Laferrière, a fortress south of his capital at Cap-Haïtien. In August 1820 he suffered a paralytic stroke and subsequently committed suicide at Sans-Souci palace. (SOURCE: Adapted from the Encycolpedia Britannica).

Additional Details

Exhibition History 1985
Clinton, NY. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College Collection, Gallery II, July 9 - Sept. 8, 1985 (no cat.).

1984
Clinton, NY. Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, Hall, Jan. 7 - Feb. 12, 1984 (no cat.).

Provenance 1981: Hamilton College (Root Art Center), by gift of Richard F. Plotka.
Signature recto lower right "S Obin Cap Haitien Haiti
Inscribed Written in the lower right of the painting is "Henri Christophe Roi D'Haiti "
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