For Immediate Release
August 8, 2024
CLARK ART INSTITUTE SCREENS
NEW FRENCH DOCUMENTARY:
LETHIÈRE: OATH OF THE ANCESTORS
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Thursday, September 12, the Clark Art Institute screens a new film, Lethière: Oath of the Ancestors, by French activist, writer, and filmmaker Claude Ribbe. This free event takes place at 6 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
Ribbe’s work focuses on the history of colonialism in the Caribbean. In this documentary, he tells the complex and compelling story of Guillaume Lethière’s Oath of the Ancestors (1822), a Haitian national treasure. The film becomes a window not just into the historical moment it commemorates, but the rich history of the painting over the last two hundred years. Lethière’s monumental Oath of the Ancestors celebrates the alliance of two of Haiti’s founding revolutionaries, the mixed-race General Alexandre Pétion and the Black General Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The 1802 coalition formed by the two men would prove to be a decisive moment in Haiti’s battle for independence, which was declared in 1804.
Utterly unique in Lethière’s oeuvre and in French painting of the period, the triumphant image celebrating the former colony’s independence and abolition of slavery is also the only painting that Lethière’s signed with his birthplace, demonstrating his personal identification with the Caribbean and the oath undertaken by these two men. Lethière created the painting to honor Haitian independence and had it smuggled into the island nation as a gift to the people of Haiti. While the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien generously agreed to lend Oath of the Ancestors to the Guillaume Lethière exhibition, the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti prevented it from traveling at the time of the exhibition’s opening.
Run time: 50 minutes
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of some 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from September through June, and daily in July and August. Open 10 am to 9 pm on Wednesdays from June 19 through September 25, with free admission from 5 to 9 pm. Admission is free January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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