Jacmel Harbor

Haitian Artist Préfète Duffaut is part of a rare breed of painters who have an instantly recognizable style. This is no easy feat to have achieved. With tens of thousands of painters in the canon of art history, how many have a style that pops out as unique?
This early work by Duffaut bears the hallmarks of Modernism combined with the unique vision of Haitian Naive art. However, Duffaut was most likely unaware of the currents of Modernist trends in art. Unlike many painters, he did not travel to Paris or Rome to soak up new ideas. Instead, he looked inward and let his imagination travel.
The present work depicts one of his favorite subjects, the harbor of the coastal town of Jacmel. The scene is viewed from a high elevation. Its rendition is highly stylized, with flat areas of color, forced and twisted perspective, and black outlines. It focuses on color relations, pairing deep cerulean and cobalt blues with punchy oranges and vivid yellows to create an unexpected, harmonious palette.
This work sets the stage for his later work, marked by his own brand of spatial composition that evolved into extreme fantasy landscapes that abandoned observable reality.
Signed, dated and inscribed lower left. Préfète Duffaut, Avril 56, Haïti. The frame is most likely original. to the painting Frame size 25 x 21 Gallery Inventory number on verso