Parade de Paysans (Peasants on Parade)
Date1961
Artist
Loïs Mailou Jones
(American artist and teacher, 1905–1998)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions39 1/4 × 19 in. (99.7 × 48.3 cm)
frame: 45 3/8 × 25 3/8 in. (115.3 × 64.5 cm)
frame: 45 3/8 × 25 3/8 in. (115.3 × 64.5 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2018
Object number2018-34
On View
On viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextPeople are shown close to each other, moving quickly in their bright, colorful clothing in this snapshot of a Haitian waterfront marketplace. A sail, or simple white triangle on the horizon, indicates the location. Looking more closely reveals hints of facial features that remind us to see individual people doing the work that makes life possible. The contrasting thick straight lines that enclose layered patterns of fabric, food, wood, and baskets might parallel the heaviness of loads balanced on heads compared to the complex interior life of each worker. Today, while we debate workers’ rights and wages during a pandemic, this picture highlights that many people carried everything we consume before we received it. Colette Gaiter
Professor, Departments of Africana Studies and Art & Design, University of Delaware
