“Le Flamboyant,” 2003, Enel Desir. Acrylic on Canvas.
Isn’t this a stunning work of art?
I pulled “Le Flamboyant,” the image above, from an old agenda that I can’t bring myself to toss because it is beautiful and educational. Though I love the rural scene depicted here, we all know I am drawn to this masterpiece because of the “flamboyant” or flame tree, which dominates this work of Haitian artist Enel Desir.
Enel Desir was born in Cavaillon, a small town in southwest Haiti, and began painting at a very young age. While attending the lycée [high school], he worked various jobs–as a photographer-reporter, a calligrapher, and an illustrator. Under the supervision of a French art teacher, Desir studied the work of such great masters as Velasquez, Renoir, and Rembrandt, which had tremendous influence on his early style.
One of his favorite subjects is the Haitian market scene, which he interprets through his colorful depictions of merchants selling flowers, and his still lifes of local fruits and vegetables. The colors Desir uses–soft green, red, orange, light blue, and yellow–enhance the appearance of the black skin of the human figures in his paintings. In 1991, the art critic Ed McCormack compared Desir with the great Mexican muralist Siqueiros. “Desir,” McCormack said, “creates sophisticated pictorials.”
Desir has participated in numerous worldwide exhibitions; his paintings have always been well received, particularly in the International Exhibition of Seville, Spain (1992) and in South Africa. Very much in demand, his works have been featured on television and in museums, books, magazines, and newspapers around the world. He was a featured artist at the Organization of American States’ exhibit in Haiti, held in Washington, DC, where he resides and paints. –from 365 Days of Black History, IOKTS Productions, published by Pomegranate.
I have had little success with finding more of Desir’s art via the internet. One brief biography of the artist pointed out that though he is a prolific artist compelled to create art, his work is scarce in the marketplace. I did manage to find one other image at the Galerie d’Art Nader of Haiti.
For actual photos of the beautiful flamboyant tree, click here.
I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.
Pics and Posts 
WOW, wow, and wow! Thanks for introducing me to this wonderful artist, the tree, and the other artwork you found. Gorgeous!! 🙂
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Woohoo! Glad you like it, Sheila D!
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it is a gorgeous painting; your blog looks like it could be worth following 🙂
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Haha! You made me laugh. Thanks!
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most of my poems are like me — though the current one isn’t — designed to make folks smile 🙂
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Beautiful! Right now, anything with green leaves on it looks absolutely heavenly to me. This tree, especially so.
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I hear you. I was going to write a post about a naked winter tree, but decided I needed a little color. Like now. I’m tired of gray skies. I need sun!
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a beautiful painting! Haiti can be beautiful…. unfortunately right now Haiti struggles even more than usual. People are leaving if they can. Beauty cannot feed families. So sad.
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…But art does show that the individuals’ lives are more complex; they are not just poverty and despair. There’s still hope, life, and art.
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What a beautiful piece, Chandra. I love when the art is so real. It is like seeing a version of what the artist actually interprets of the scene. Thanks a bunch for joining. I hope to see you back tomorrow.
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That is a lovely painting on many levels. I was able to find some other examples of Desir’s art online and I do like his style a lot.
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The softness and colors give me a comfortable feeling of cheer and peace. Thank you!
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Such wonderful work.
And just in time for the approaching season.
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Yes! I can’t wait for things to warm up and for some color!
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