Haitian Art at the Figge Museum, Davenport

 The Figge Museum has an extensive collection of Haitian art, and while all of it is catalogued on line, a fraction of it is available to see in a gallery.  That said, it is well worth a peak.
Located on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, Haiti has struggled with centuries of political oppression and violence that has left the country poor and vulnerable to natural disasters. Spain and France controlled the island from 1492 until 1791 when a successful slave uprising led to the formation of the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere. Since independence, a series of corrupt dictators have replaced colonial rule and plunged the nation into constant political upheaval.
Wilmeno Domond painted this in 1925.  He was primarily a coffee planter and paints in his spare time. He was initially inspired to paint by his cousin, Castera Bazile, however, their styles are very different. Domond repeatedly turns to subjects from the Bible and from vodoo (this being the former) and is much more interested in the effects of pattern and detail. In this painting, Adam and Eve, who have clothed themselves with leaves, are expelled from the Garden of Eden by the archangel Michael who wields a sword. The lush garden is packed with dense foliage patterns and the flat profiles of various exotic animals.

This rendition of Eve, the snake and the garden of Eden is so vibrant and beautifully rendered that I would love to have something like this in my home.  A lot of art I see I think is beautiful but I am not sure that I want to live with it.  Even some art that I have bought to live with in retrospect can be a poor choice in the end, but I just love this style of painting, with a traditional story, a stunningly colorful palate, and a joyful feel to what we know was an act of trickery and the beginning of a fall from grace.  We can see just how tempting that apple was for poor Eve.