NO. 52 OF 61
Grâce
Bernard Séjourné (1947–1994)
$19,500
- Medium
- Oil on board
- Size
- 24 × 30 in
- Year
- 1993
- Price
- $19,500
Or email Haitianartdisplay@gmail.com
About the work
Closed eyes and a faint smile give a face its quiet centre. Bernard Séjourné belonged to Haiti’s School of Beauty, with its pursuit of beauty, elegance and grace. In Grâce, stillness holds our attention while the surrounding movement leads it onwards. The eye can wander, then return to that small expression, finding a place to rest within the flow.
Blue, rose, lilac, gold and teal ribbons sweep around a pale head turned downwards and sideways. Fine golden-brown lines cover the ground, with small cloud and leaf shapes among the colour.
About the artist
Bernard Séjourné was born in Port-au-Prince on 20 November 1947, into a family of planters. He studied painting and art history first in Jamaica and later in the United States, while keeping close ties with Haiti. He was associated with the School of Beauty, alongside Jean-René Jérôme and Jean-Claude Legagneur. His paintings showed women with long necks and half-closed eyes, together with seashells, tropical flowers and smooth, wave-like forms in pastel colors. He designed the 1986 label for Château Mouton Rothschild, a trio of masks. The Spencer Museum of Art holds Erzuline and Asefi. He died in Port-au-Prince in 1994.