Sketch 5-for Haitian commission of Dessailines statue

Commissioned by the Haitian government to complete a statue of revolutionary war hero Jean Jacques Dessalines, Barthé did several sketches in preparation for the 1953 installation of the image. This is one of at least seven drawings in the artist’s personal manuscript collection that are thought to be directly related to the Dessalines commission. The final translation of the image in bronze had an air of monumentality that is not reflected in Barthé’s sketches. According to the New York Times, the "40-foot equestrian statue of Jean Jacques Dessalines, “paid tribute to the revolutionary war hero that wrested control of the former French colony from Napoleon's armies."