Painter Rigaud Benoit was born 115 years ago in Port-au-Prince

115 years ago, on 1 November 1911, Rigaud Benoit was born in Port-au-Prince. He became one of the painters of the generation that brought Haitian art to international attention.

At the Centre d'art

It was at the Centre d'art in Port-au-Prince, founded in 1944 by the American Dewitt Peters, that he took up painting. There he worked alongside other artists who left their mark on their era.

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

In 1950, he was part of the team that decorated the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, alongside Castera Bazile, Philomé Obin, Préfète Duffaut, Toussaint Auguste and Wilson Bigaud. There he painted the Nativity, which hung above the altar. The building was destroyed by the earthquake of 12 January 2010.

An Artistic Family and a Celestial Tribute

He married the daughter of his friend Hector Hyppolite. Rigaud Benoit died on 29 October 1986. Since 2009, a crater on the planet Mercury has borne the name Benoit in his honor.