Product Description
Haitian Primitive Painting, Manbo in Pink by Gerard Fortune, Voodoo Priestess
Manbo is the term for a female (as opposed to the Houngan, or male) High Priest in the Vodou religion in Haiti. They are the highest form of clergy in the religion, whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage.
21.5"x29"
Artist Bio
Gerard Fortune
Usually referred to by only his first name, Gerard was for most of his adult life a cook in a Petionville restaurant. He is unsure of his exact age, but thinks he was born around 1935. He began to paint in the early 1980's, in the small caille where he lives in Montagne Noir, above Petionville. Outside the house are scores of potted plants, a trellis blooming with beautiful flowers, and a large bird house alive with white pigeons. He paints his wonderful paintings inside the hut, which has no electricity or running water. After sundown, he works by the light of a gas lantern. He is one of the few self-taught painters left in Haiti. His work was featured in the May 1990 issue of Art & Antiques magazine and is included in most recent books about Haitian Art.
