difficult to see them as a whole to get a better understanding of the artist . The most astounding painting was The Oath of the Ancestors . “ It would have been at the core of many studies , but this painting was hidden in plain sight in Haiti for two centuries when it was rediscovered in 1993 by the two people : Geneviève Capy and Gérard-Florent Laballe , and I knew both of them at this time ,” says Meslay . The painting was long believed to have been lost in a fire that had ravaged the Cathedral of Haiti where it hung . The badly damaged piece was discovered , and thanks to the initiative of the Association des Amis de Lethière , a cultural organization set up in Guadeloupe by Capy and Laballe , it was sent to France and restored . It was only since the painting resurfaced that attention was given to Lethière . The new book on Lethière connected to the Clark exhibition is dedicated to Capy and Laballe .
Meslay has a definite impression that Lethière was deeply social and deeply faithful to people . “ A surprise to me was to discover that he was a good friend of Marquis de Lafayette from very early on ,” says Meslay . “ We do not have the exact trace of their first meetings , but later in Lafayette ’ s life , he is describing Lethière as one of his oldest friends . I never heard of that before .”
Because he was light-skinned and because he was friends with many people in France who were white , Lethière could have ignored his mixed-race background and not talked about it , says Meslay . But he didn ’ t . “ Lethière was extremely faithful to his African roots . A lot of his friends were people of mixed race , and that he made this painting to celebrate Haiti ’ s independence at a time when France was at war with Haiti is amazing . He was an academician , and he knew the king and was extremely established . At the same time , he was doing this painting that celebrated two men whom a lot of people in France hated because they made Haiti independent . That ' s unbelievable .”
Besides the Oath of the Ancestors and Brutus Condemning His Sons to Death , Meslay is drawn to another painting that will be exhibited , on loan from Nottingham City Museums and Galleries in England titled Homer Singing His Iliad at the Gates of Athens ( c . 1814 , oil on canvas ). “ It is a painting showing Homer
singing his songs as a sort of beggar in the street of Athens ,” says Meslay . “ It ' s a very gentle painting , very beautiful . There is a benevolence , which is a reflection of Lethière ’ s own personality .”
Events in conjunction with Guillaume Lethière are scheduled through the summer at the Clark , such as the Opera Lafayette performing music from the 18th century French Caribbean on Wednesday , June 26 , at 6 p . m .; live music by Jacques Schwarz- Bart and Band from Guadaloupe and Haiti on Wednesday , July 3 , at 6 p . m .; and Sonny Troupe and Band on Wednesday , July 10 , at 6 p . m .
The exhibition Invisible Empires by Kathia St . Hilaire will open in the Clark ’ s Lunder Center at Stone Hill on May 11 . St . Hilaire blends historical facts with the larger-thanlife legends of Haiti ’ s famed personalities and describes her work as “ magical realist .” In representing creolized cultures , the artist uses a collage of nontraditional materials , from banknotes and banana stickers to product packaging and tire treads . And like the open weaving at the edges of her work , the artist suggests , the Haitian revolution is itself an unfinished project . n
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May Holiday / June 2024 2023 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // // 79