More Historical Renderings:

Portraiture by Vic Harville of the Stephens Media Group.

Artist Dwane Powell's depiction of a U.S. conservative political figurehead in action.

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.

Reference to Haiti

"Haiti may be something out of the past or the future... but this country has very little to do with the present." This was the observation of British sculptor John Buckley on a recent visit to the Caribbean. "Haiti is a surreal country. Everything is larger than life. Where else can you find a military dictator who doesn't send his citizens off to war to be killed, he shoots them down himself on the home front? Where else do people in a voodoo trance kiss a pig to death? Where do families see the devil strolling down the street? Where is Aids running riot?" How could Buckley know his observations were pre-apocalyptic?