Jean-René Jérôme (1942–1991) was a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an painter and considered one of Haiti's greatest artists. Born in

Petit-Goâve Petit-Goâve () is a coastal List of communes of Haiti, commune in the Léogâne Arrondissement in the Ouest (department), Ouest Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of a ...

on March 17, 1942, Jean-René Jérôme moved to

Port-Au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

where he attended the " Petit Séminaire Collège St-Martial" and later the " Collège Moderne”. His family is a part of the elite of Haitian society, which enabled him to engage in a variety of artistic activities that interested him such as dance, theatre, drawing, voice and painting. He was able to study drawing and painting at the

School of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

. In 1965, he won first prize at the

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Salon Competition. He later decided to devote himself entirely to painting and opened a studio in Port-Au-Prince in 1968. Jérôme is best known for the originality of his paintings, particularly those of nude females. He was awarded an art scholarship by the US government in 1970 and stayed for four months, studying and working with Bernard Séjourne. In 1973 he returned to Haiti and taught at the School of Fine Arts. He founded the School of Beauty with Bernard Séjourne, Jean-Claude Legagneur and

Philippe Dodard Philippe Walter Marie Dodard (born 1954) is a Haitian graphic artist and painter. His works have been exhibited throughout Europe and the Americas. Early life and education Dodard was born in Port-au-Prince in 1954. He received the first prize ...

. In 1985, he founded the "Ateliers Jérôme" where his own paintings and other artist's works are exhibited. His artwork has been exhibited in countries such as Canada,

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, United States,

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

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Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

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and

. Jean-René Jérôme died in 1991. Illustrations of his painting can be seen in

Selden Rodman Cary Selden Rodman (February 19, 1909 – November 2, 2002) was a prolific American writer of poetry, plays and prose, political commentary, art criticism, Latin American and Caribbean history, biography and travel writing—publishing a book al ...

’s book “ Where Art is Joy”, Eva Pataki’s book, “ Haitian Painting” and Gerald Alexis’ book, “ Peintres Haïtiens”.

References

* * * 1942 births 1991 deaths Haitian sculptors 20th-century Haitian sculptors 20th-century Haitian painters 20th-century Haitian male artists Haitian male painters {{Caribbean-sculptor-stub