Three Angels with Black Jesus

Edgar Brierre, artist

born 1933

Three Angels with Black Jesus, circa 1960s

Where object was made: Haiti

Material/technique: hardboard; paint

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 76 x 60.5 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 29 15/16 x 23 13/16 in
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): Not Framed 76 x 60.5 cm

Credit line: Mary Lou Vansant Hughes Collection

Accession number: 2011.0255

Not on display

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The Ties that Bind: Haiti, the United States, and the Art of Ulrick Jean-Pierre in Comparative Perspective

Many Haitian artists honor the syncretism—or combination of different forms of belief and practice—that exists between Vodou and Christianity. Murat Brierre’s Crucifix is an example of this, wherein a Jesus with Haitian features hangs on the cross. Likewise, Edgar Brierre challenges the white representation of iconic Christian figures by portraying the angels and Christ figure as Haitian in Three Angels with Black Jesus. In Vodou belief, the visible world is inhabited by human spirits, while the invisible world is populated by lwas (spirits), mistè (mysteries), zanj (angels), and envizib (the invisibles), as well as the spirits of ancestors who have died. The three angels in Brierre’s painting thus evoke Christian icons while simultaneously symbolizing these Vodou entities.