Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue (Haitian, 1930-1996), Village Scene

oil on masonite, signed at lower right, framed.
Frame dimensions 41 x 19 in.
Port-au-Prince native Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue began painting at an early age and eventually exhibited throughout Europe and the Americas. He typically painted scenes of rural Haitian life and vodou ceremonies in a personal style that combines surrealism and naive art. Gourgue studied at the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince in 1947. The following year his painting "The Magic Table"—an "unprecedented picture"—was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and it is still part of its permanent collection. In 1949, he won the gold medal for an exhibition commemorating the bicentennial of the founding of Port au Prince.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Gourgue moved to Madrid, Spain and his style was greatly influenced by Pablo Picasso. Eventually, he returned to his hometown, where he painted until his death.

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Good estate condition.