Max Pinchinat (Haitian, 1925-1985)

Max Pinchinat (June 24, 1925–November 1985) was a Haitian painter, critic, and cultural figure born in Port-au-Prince who later lived and worked primarily in Paris. After completing his secondary education, he entered the Military Academy and rose to the rank of sub-lieutenant. In 1947, he joined the Centre d’Art and, in 1949, won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Port-au-Prince—an early milestone that helped establish his reputation. Pinchinat also played an important intellectual role in Haitian art. He served as an art critic for Le Nouvelliste and Notre-Temps and contributed to Conjonction, the journal of the French Institute in Haiti. In 1950, he became one of the founders of the Foyer des Arts Plastiques (Hall of Plastic Arts), alongside artists such as Lucien Price, Dieudonné Cédor, and Luckner Lazard, and was elected its first president. In 1951, Pinchinat resigned from both the army and the Hall of Plastic Arts to accept a scholarship from the French government. He lived in Paris from 1952 to 1954, returned briefly to Haiti in 1956, and then settled permanently in Paris. His professional life in France included work as a proofreader at the Georges Lang printing house in 1966 and later at Le Monde beginning in 1968. Between 1949 and 1961, he exhibited frequently in Haiti and internationally, including in France, the United States, Mexico, South America, and Germany. Pinchinat’s art is noted for bridging modern aesthetics with Haitian visual tradition. As Haitian art critic Gérald Alexis observed in Peintres Haïtiens, Pinchinat learned to blend a modern sensibility with elements drawn from Haitian popular art—an approach that contributes to his lasting importance in the history of modern Haitian painting. Scroll down to make your selection (s)!