Today's post is inspired by the wonderful book Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain. It's short stories, some of which are about Haiti—including one about a nameless Haitian who wants to smuggle art, by way of a peacekeeper intermediary, Mason, out of the country to raise money for a rebellion.
"This," he announced, stepping past Mason to the bed, "is the treasure of the Haitian people."
Mason stood back as the mulatto began pulling rolls of canvas from the bags, stripping off the rag strings, and laying the canvases on the bed. "Hyppolite," he said crisply as a serpentine creature with the head of a man unfurled across the mattress. "Castera Bazile," he said next, "the crucifixion," and a blunt-angled painting of the nailed and bleeding Christ was laid over Hyppolite's mutant snake. "Philomé Obin. Bigaud. André Pierre. All of the Haitian masters are represented." At first glance the paintings had a wooden quality, and yet Mason, whose life trajectory had mostly skimmed him past art, felt confronted by something vital and real.
"Préfète Duffaut." The mulatto kept unrolling canvases. "Lafortune Felix. Saint-Fleurant. Hyppolite, his famous painting of Erzulie. There is a million dollars' worth of art in this room."
This was a lot, even allowing for the Haitian gift for puff. "How did you get it?" Mason felt obliged to ask.
"We stole it." The mulatto gave him an imperious look.
"You stole it?"
"Shortly after the coup. Most of the paintings we took in a single night. It wasn't difficult, I know the houses where they have the art. A few pictures came later, but most of the items we took in the time of the coup."
"Okay." Mason felt the soft approach was best. "You're an artist?"
"I am a doctor," said the mulatto, and his arrogance seemed to bear this out.
"But you like art."
The mulatto paused, then went on as if Mason hadn't spoken.
"Art is the only thing of value in my country—the national treasure, what Haiti has to offer to the world. We are going to use her treasure to free her."
Mason had met his share of delusional Haitians, but here were the pictures, and here was a man with the bearing of a king.
And here are randomly chosen works by the artists mentioned, including the "mutant snake" (click on them to view large on black):
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| Wilson Bigaud, Feeding the Rooster (1960) |
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| Castera Bazile, Cemetery Scene (1952) |
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| Frantz Zephirin, L'aigle et le serpent |
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| Hyppolite, Hector Limba Zaran (1946) |
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| Félix LaFortune, no title (1988) |
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| Louisiane Saint-Fleurant, no title |
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| Stivenson Magloire, Allégorie Justice (1993) |
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| Philomé Obin, Carnaval de 1954, rue du Pont |
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| Préfète Duffaut, Paysage haïtien |
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André Pierre, Dambala Wedo, Erzulie Fréda Daromey
et Maître Ogou Fieraille (1984) |
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