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Haiti to Harlem: Toussaint L'Ouverture & Jacob Lawrence Main Menu Jacob Lawrence: The Storyteller Paintings to Prints The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture in Print Contextualizing The Prints Curating the Exhibition Imprints and Impact Highlights the impact of the Jacob Lawrence prints in relation to both Lawrence's life and the history of global POC liberation. About the Curators Meet the Fall 2024 Curatorial Class! Select Bibliography

St. Marc

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Left: On March 24, he captured Mirebalois (1937) / Right: St. Marc (1994) 

In 1795, L’Ouverture put an end to the Spanish threat to French Saint-Domingue, and made inroads against the British presence. However, he was unable to oust them from Saint Marc, where his force met with fierce resistance. This print reinstates the intense tone through a palette of low saturation. At the same time, given that he eventually contained the British force by resorting to guerrilla tactics, this frame of L’Ouverture readying to mount the horse indicates his preserving determination. In a dark red coat with a black sash and tall crowned hat, he stands alongside his horse with each facing the opposite direction. The placing of the saber (sword) suggests that his back is to the viewer. The symmetrical composition demonstrates Lawrence’s fondness for building on geometry, as the “X” shape comprised by two figures contributes to the steadiness of the frame.

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