Background
His father was a French psychiatrist, and his mother said to be a Haitian vodou priestess.
His father was a French psychiatrist, and his mother said to be a Haitian vodou priestess.
"He is beyond dispute the leading figure in modern Haitian painting."
After a turbulent and troubled childhood, Gourgue came to Centre d"Art in Portuguese-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. During the decades of the 1950s and 1960s his style was greatly influenced by Pablo Picasso, in what is known as his "Spanish period".
"Gourgue"s imagery is not easily interpreted by those not familiar with Haitian life, folklore, and religion," wrote Ute Stebich, a noted expert on Haitian art
The artist"s intention is to force the viewer to meet him on the level of the subconscious, giving free rein to emotion and fantasy."
After his divorce he moved to his hometown, where he painted most of his later work, including a large mural that decorated the flag of Haiti in the Seville Expo of 1992. He died in 1996 due to a heart attack.