Hector Hyppolite — Peasants at the Harvest
Details
Signed ‘H. Hyppolite’ (lower right) and titled ‘Pizan yo nan rekôt la’ (lower center). On the reverse bears various pencil inscriptions and numbers.
Sizes:
Artwork: 73 × 60.5 cm | 28.7 × 23.8 in
Pizan yo nan rekôt la (Peasants at the Harvest) is a vibrant and deeply evocative work by Hector Hyppolite, the undisputed master of the Haitian art renaissance. The composition transports the viewer into the heart of rural Haiti, depicting a lively harvest scene set against a backdrop of rolling, verdant mountains.
Hyppolite’s intuitive mastery of color and form is on full display: the rich, earthy tones of the landscape are punctuated by the bright, rhythmic garments of the peasants and the vivid red of the harvested crops. The absence of traditional perspective creates a flattened, almost dreamlike pictorial space that is both immediate and monumental.
Championed by prominent figures of the surrealist movement such as André Breton, Hyppolite infused his scenes of everyday Haitian life with a profound sense of spiritual and cultural vitality. In this particular canvas, the harmonious interaction between the figures and their environment transcends simple documentation, becoming a poetic celebration of the land and its people.
Executed with his characteristic uninhibited brushwork, this painting stands as a powerful testament to Hyppolite’s unique vision and his enduring legacy in Caribbean art.
Provenance
Haitian Center of New York at Carlebach, New York (label verso).
Private Collection, USA.
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above in 1970).
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2006.
Condition Report
Overall good condition. Please contact us to request a detailed Condition Report.
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Hector Hyppolite
Hector Hyppolite was a self taught painter and one of the most important figures in Haitian art. A former houngan, or Vodou priest, Hyppolite put spiritual symbolism and imagination into his paintings, transforming divine visions and local folklore into visual stories. He used simple materials – chicken feathers and household paint – to create raw and lyrical works that capture the essence of Haitian culture.
Discovered and promoted by André Breton and the Surrealists, Hyppolite became the embodiment of unbridled creativity, unbound by academic rules. His colorful compositions, full of gods, spirits and everyday life, merge mysticism with modernism, Haiti’s voice on the global scene. Although his career was short, Hyppolite’s legacy remains as a proof of intuition, spiritual depth and the power of color.
