Hermithe Hyppolite

Hermithe Hyppolite
Bornc. 1916
Haiti
Died5 June 2007 (aged 90–91)[1]
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Occupations
  • Figure in modern Haitian art scene
  • domestic worker
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1986, died)​
ChildrenFour, including Fils Rigaud Benoit, Castelneau Benoit, Yves Lafontant (adopted), and Jacques Dorcé (adopted)
ParentHector Hyppolite (father)

Hermithe Hyppolite (also referred under first name spellings of Hermite, Herminthe, Ermite, or last names Hypolite, Hyppolyte, or Hypolyte; c. 1916 – 5 June 2007), was a figure within the mid-20th-century Haitian art movement in Port-au-Prince. Hyppolite played a supportive role in the early development of the modern Haitian art movement. She was a member of two influential families of Haitian artists as the daughter of painter Hector Hyppolite and the spouse of painter Rigaud Benoit.[2]: 18 [3] Together with Benoit, she raised and mentored four painters in the modern Haitian art scene, including Fils Rigaud Benoit,[4][5] Castelneau Benoit,[6] Yves Lafontant, and Jacques Dorcé.[7][8]

Early life

Hyppolite was born in Haiti around 1916 to the artist Hector Hyppolite. Her father, a third-generation Vodou priest,[9]: 108 [10]: 54  became a key figure in the Haitian art scene,[11]: cf [12][13] but prior to that apprenticed as a cobbler, worked as an innkeeper, and also worked as a painter, painting homes and doors.[14]: 227–228 

She was identified as the only daughter of his for whom there is a documented birth record.[15]: cf [16] However, scholars have noted a chronological discrepancy with her birth year as her father reportedly resided in Cuba from 1909 until 1920.[17][18]: cf [15] Her father and mother never officially married, which her father attributed to his spiritual devotion to the Voudou deities, in particular the Siren (La Sirèn).[19]: 139  Her father was vocal about his rejection of secular marriage and his mystical marriages with the lwa the Siren, the Vodou goddess of the sea as well as the lwa Erzulie Dantor.[20]: 124 [21][22]: 198 

She may have been mentioned in an interview her father gave to Selden Rodman:[23]: 67 

I have several children outside, but they're all grown up now; they're big and they're ambitious and they're just waiting for me to die so they can inherit from me. But my new baby, ah, she's different. I shall bring her up in my own way. Her name signifies love. So when she's a grown woman and a man calls her by her name, he will be saying to her: You are my love.[23]: 67 

Her father may have been speaking directly about Hermite Hyppolite as his biological descendant. However, it is possible that he was speaking about his initiates (ounsi) as his children, metaphorically describing himself as a parent of love, or referring to an attribute of one of the lwa, such as Erzulie Freda.[15][12]

Career and legacy

She married Rigaud Benoit, who was a close friend of her father.[24]: 171 [25]: 332 : 332 [26]: 27 In the early years of Benoit's career, before he gained international acclaim, Hyppolite provided financial stability for the household by doing washing in their neighbourhood near Grand Rue, so that Benoit could pursue art.[27]: cf [18]: cf 

With Benoit, she raised four children who became artists of the modern Haitian art movement: Fils Rigaud Benoit, Castelneau Benoit, Yves Lafontant, and Jacques Dorcé. Hyppolite and Benoit had two biological children together: Fils Rigaud Benoit and Castelneau Benoit, both of whom became painters.[6][8]: cf [5]: cf [4]: cf  The couple adopted and mentored Yves Lafontant and Jacques Dorcé, who also became artists in their own right.[7]: cf [8]: cf 

Hyppolite died in Port-au-Prince on 5 June 2007.[1]: cf 

References

Citations

Sources

  • Alexis, Gérald (Fall 2004). "Hector Hyppolite: sa peinture profane". Journal of Haitian Studies. 10 (2). Retrieved 2026-04-23. [The importance of women in the life of Hector Hyppolite is well known. It is likely because of his privileged relationship with the Siren that he was never known to have a marriage or any stable common-law union. Let us note, however, that he had a daughter, Hermite. But everyone agrees that he adored women and did not fail, as Serge St. Jean wrote, [to throw himself into] "the intoxicating and dangerous river of pleasure.]
  • Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195170559.
  • Archives Nationales d'Haïti (2007-06-05). "Acte de décès de Hermithe Hypolite". Haïti, état civil, 1794-2018. Port-au-Prince, Ouest, Haïti: Archives Nationales d'Haïti. Certificate 338, Page 116.
  • Barnitz, Jacqueline (2001). Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292708570.
  • Chicago Gallery of Haitian Art (2026-04-23). "Rigaud Benoit". Chicago Gallery of Haitian Art. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  • Chilvers, Ian; Glaves-Smith, John (2009). A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199239658. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Congdon, Kristin G.; Hallmark, Kara Kelley (2002). Artists from Latin American Cultures: A Biographical Dictionary. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Cosentino, Donald J. (1995). Cosentino, Donald (ed.). Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Los Angeles, Calif.: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.
  • Dansie, Marta (2016-05-09). "Hyppolite, Hector (c. 1894–1948)". Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism. Taylor and Francis. doi:10.4324/9781135000356-REM177-1. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  • Decker, Andrew (1991-04-29). "Best Bids: A Period of Adjustment". New York Magazine. Vol. 24, no. 17. New York Media, LLC. ISSN 0028-7369.
  • Demme, Jonathan (1997). Island on Fire: Passionate Visions of Haiti from the Collection of Jonathan Demme. Kaliko Press. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  • Grinnell College (2026). "Rigaud Benoit, Fils". Haitian Art Digital Crossroads (Grinnell College eMuseum). Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Haitian Art Society (2026a). "Benoit, Fils Rigaud". Haitian Art Society. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  • Haitian Art Society (2026b). "Hyppolite, Hector (1894-1948)". Haitian Art Society. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  • Haitian Paintings (2026-04-24). "Voodoo Ceremony by Castelneau Benoit". Haitian Paintings. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  • Hoffman, Larry G. (1985). Haitian Art: The Legend and Legacy of the Naïve Tradition. Davenport Art Gallery.
  • Le Centre d'Art (2026-04-25). "Rigaud Benoit (1911-1986)". Le Centre d'Art. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Le Clézio, J. M. G. (2011). "Preface". In Comité Hector Hyppolite (ed.). Hector Hyppolite. Paris: Éditions de Capri.
  • Méndez-Méndez, Serafín; Cueto, Gail (2003). Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313093203.
  • Nader-Salomon, Myriam (2026-04-25). "Rigaud Benoit". Myriam Nader Haitian Art Gallery. Myriam Nader Haitian Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 2025-10-09. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Rodman, Selden (1948). "Discovery of Hector Hyppolite". Renaissance in Haiti: Popular Painters in the Black Republic (PDF). New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
  • St. Jean, Serge (1973). Hector Hyppolite: Une somme. Port-au-Prince: S. St. Jean. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Stevenson, Tori (2025). The Haitian Artist Hector Hyppolite: The Aesthetic Convergence of Vodou, Négritude, and Surrealism (Master's thesis). University of Oregon. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
  • Strongman, Roberto (2019). Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Vodou, Candomblé, and Santería. Duke University Press. ISBN 9781478003458.
  • The Electric Gallery (2026-04-23). "Rigaud Benoit Biography". The Electric Gallery. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  • The Gallery of Everything (2026-04-23). "Rigaud Benoit Biography". The Gallery of Everything. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.