ERIC GIRAULT - IMPRESSIONIST PAINTER

One of the best Impressionist Haitian painters, Eric Girault is called "The Vibration of Life." Reserved, shy, and modest, he was very gifted in drawing since its childhood.

Girault was born in Jérémie in the Southern part of Haiti, on December 4, 1937. After his primary classes under the Christian instruction, he completed its secondary studies at the "Lycée Nord Alexis" and the "College Saint-Louis of Jérémie."

In 1959, Girault went to establish himself in Port-au-Prince where he met Isaa El Salieh, who encouraged him to join "l'Ecole d'Art Brochette." From there, he persevered until 1961and later met the artists Lazard, Ti Ga and Cédor.

Six years later, he was integrated into the School of Visual arts in Haiti. In 1969, Eric Girault discovered his own Impressionnist style.

In 1976, he moved to the United States with his family and continued to paint but, he didn't change his style. In 1978, Eric Girault participated with ten other Haitian artists in an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, where his paintings were a great hit. This show launched the successful recognition that he continues to enjoy today in the United States and abroad.

The Impressionist revolution changed the way that people had perceived art. Thanks to the hard work and determination of the Impressionist leaders like Monet, Pisarro, Cezanne, Modern Art was born. Their contributions opened the door very wide to all of the "isms". It has been opened so wide that ordinary people could throw their psychedelic deliriums on a canvas and describe it as "art". Some people might classify this as "contemporary art". Others referred to these delusive people as "Pirates of Art".

Each artist has been influenced by a style. Impressionism is the style that best suits me in expressing my emotions and my feelings about nature and life in general. My work depicts the humbleness of everyday life.

Painting, to me, is like a poem in color; it makes me feel that I am in constant communication with nature and others around me. I can't imagine my life without painting. It really gives the illusion of "la joie de vivre".

According to Girault, the Impressionist style has been developed after a long struggle that forced it to be accepted by the art establishment and the public. Artists dissident have been rebelled against it by the annual jury and the classical dictature of David. The artists had decided to form a movement. In the manifesto they emphasized mostly on nature, based on theory of a scientist named Chevrenil, who discovered interferences from color to color in the prism. They preferred to work outside to study the changing atmosphere, the effect of light on the trees and houses, depending on the time and place. Their work was based more on perception rather than conception. They painted what they saw, rather than what wasn't there.