NO. 57 OF 61
Le Couple
Jasmin Joseph (1924–2005)
$5,000
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 12 × 24 in
- Year
- 1991
- Price
- $5,000
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About the work
One upright animal points a finger while a smaller companion raises a paw. Jasmin Joseph gave animals roles that other painters assigned to people. His creatures often carry gentle satire and moral undertones. Here, the gestures make a conversation of the pair. The meeting feels familiar while leaving its words to us, with each presence answering the other through movement.
Brown fur stands out on grass beneath a leafy tree. The larger creature rests its other hand on its belly. A grey stone lies in front under pale blue sky.
About the artist
Jasmin Joseph was born in Grande-Rivière-du-Nord on 27 March 1924, according to the Centre d'Art; some sources give 1923. From 1942 he worked at a brickworks near Cabaret, where in 1948 the sculptor Jason Seley noticed his clay figures and took examples to the Centre d'Art. He then lived and sculpted at the Centre for nine years. In 1955 his openwork clay choir of angels and twelve apostles was unveiled at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. He later turned increasingly to painting, often of animals in biblical scenes. He sat on the Centre's board from 1997 to 2004 and died in Port-au-Prince on 31 October 2005.