Answer to Question #238294 in History for rivaldo

Question

Look at “Source A” (next page), a portrait of the Haitian Revolutionary leader, and former

slave, Toussaint Louverture painted by John Kay in 1805. Describe, with reference to at least

two visual clues in the portrait, how the artist has represented the future ambitions of the black

revolutionaries. What does the source tell us (or not tell us) about the historical context and

period? (30 marks; 200 to 250 words)

Answer 1

While there are numerous newly discovered contemporary portraits, the many later visual representations are just as important for understanding Louverture's afterlives. From Cham's caricatures in Le Punch à Paris in 1850 to far more contemporary works by Kimathi Donkor, Edouard Duval-Carrié, and Ulrick Jean-Pierre, they include works by Kimathi Donkor, Edouard Duval-Carrié, and Ulrick Jean-Pierre. One of the most astonishing contributions is Jacob Lawrence's famous The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, published in 1938 in the final years of the Harlem Renaissance and in the aftermath of the US colonization of Haiti. The collection of 41 images demonstrates Haiti's persistent global impact on debates concerning the country African-American identity. Lawrence's work is in conversation with older depictions of the Haitian Revolutionary leader, some of which the artist studied at the New York Public Library's 135th Street branch (now the Schomberg Center). Lawrence's use of a comic-book aesthetic foreshadows contemporary depictions of the Haitian Revolution and the lives of its leaders in comics such as Adam Murphy's Corpse Talk, Guyanese creative Barrington Braithwaite's Drums of Freedom, and Rocky Cotard and Laurent Dubois' new graphic history. Louverture's growing recognition as a global revolutionary figure means he's on his way to obtaining a transcultural icon that only Che Guevara has attained.