Haitian History Lesson

"Battle on Santo Domingo" (detail), by Polish military painter January Suchodolski, is a remarkable image depicting the successful Haitian slave revolt against the French. Until Pat Robertson quipped that the mayhem of this week's 7.0 earthquake in Haiti was because of that revolt, I never bothered to research the topic. (Robertson, BTW, blamed Hurricane Katrina on God's anger over abortion.) The Haitian uprising Suchodolski painted established the first republic in modern times to be led by people of African descent. It kicked Napoleon's ass to the curb and helped give Jefferson the nerve to make the Louisiana Purchase.
     This painting was made to record history - a reason for art-making that peaked in the 19th century and gave way to Modernism.