Funeral Procession

A self-taught painter from Louisiana, Clementine Hunter is known for her colorful and straightforward scenes culled from her memories of life on a Southern plantation. Having worked primarily in the cotton fields and then as a domestic servant, her compositions include scenes of outdoor activity and still lifes of everyday objects. Hunter?s Funeral Procession is one among many representations of religious rituals that the artist recalls in her imagery. This busy scene is painted with a bright palette that highlights details such as hats, flowers and clothing, marking the reverent mood of the occasion. Like many of Hunter?s paintings, the scene tells a simple story?a procession leads from a church down a hill to a gravesite, in the stacked perspective and with the stylized forms indicative of the artist?s oeuvre.