Prospère Pierre-Louis (1947–1997), also known as Prosper Pierre-Louis, was a Haitian artist, painter and one of the main contributors to the Saint Soleil art movement. His paintings depicting mystical Vodou lwa and spirits are especially noteworthy. Pierre-Louis was born on October 12, 1947, in Bainet, near

Jacmel Jacmel (; ) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula, and ...

, Haiti. He did not have any formal schooling but taught himself to play the drums and the violin. As a child, he assisted his father, a

houngan Oungan (also written as ''houngan'') is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou (a female priest is known as a ''mambo''). The term is derived from Gbe languages (Fon, Ewe, Adja, Phla, Gen, Maxi and Gun). The word hounnongan means chief p ...

, in preparing

Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West Africa, West and ...

ceremonies. At the age of 16, he moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

. There, he took a number of odd jobs. Later, while working as a waiter at the home of Maud Robard, he joined the Saint Soleil commune organized by Robard and Jean-Claude Garoute, which united a variety of poor artists including singers, dancers, craftsmen, and painters into the movement. Pierre-Louis followed Robard to the community at Soisson-la-Montagne on the mountain above LaBoule and eventually became the most prominent painter in the group. The Saint Soleil group disbanded in 1978, but five of the artists—Pierre-Louis, Levoy Exil, Denis Smith, Dieuseul Paul, and

Louisiane Saint Fleurant Louisiane Saint Fleurant (11 September 1924 – 1 June 2005) was a Haitian female artist and painter. She was a founder of the peasant Saint Soleil art movement. Saint Fleurant's paintings often depict maternal scenes of females, children, tree ...

—reorganized into the group "Cinq Soleils". After years of labor, Pierre-Louis's technique greatly evolved and he became a prominent and respected member of the local art community. His flourishing career came to an abrupt end when he died prematurely of an asthma attack in November 1997. Paintings by Prospère Pierre-Louis have been sold by the Friends of HAS Haiti to raise funds for the

Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti The Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti is a hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. It was established in 1956 by Larry Mellon, who was inspired by Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and the life and philosophy of Albert Schweitzer. History In 1947, Larry Mell ...

in Deschapelles. Works by the artist are also part of the collection of Prince Olivier Doria d'Angri.

References

External links

Some paintings at Galery d'Art Nader, PAP, Haiti.Paintings by Pierre-Louis Prospère at Friends of Hopital Albert Schweitzer
1947 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Haitian painters 20th-century Haitian male artists Haitian male painters {{Haiti-bio-stub