Dominique Dennery
Monument à Toussaint Louverture
2017
Presentation of the artwork
On the occasion of the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal, members of the Haitian community, represented by the Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal (BCHM), offered the city the gift of a life-size bust of Toussaint Louverture. Despite Louverture’s status as a national hero, there is no realistic portrayal of him. Inspired by paintings, coins, and sculptures of his likeness, the artist and the BCHM agreed to represent him in his middle years, reflective, worried about his weighty task, but with visionary features and a noble gaze. Great care was paid to his clothing and stance, showing him as a dignified, proud man. This statement by Louverture is engraved on the pedestal of the monument: “In overthrowing me, you have cut only the trunk of the tree of liberty. It will spring up again, for its roots are numerous and deep!” Associated events
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (1743–1803) was an Afro-Caribbean politician (from Santo Domingo) descended from African slaves. The figurehead of the Haitian revolution and a leader of the anti-colonialist uprisings, he became the first black governor for life of a colony in 1801. He was an abolitionist and is celebrated today as a hero of emancipation of slaves and a founding father of Haiti. 
© Dominique Dennery (2017)
Crédit : Ville de Montréal
Dominique Dennery
Dominique Dennery was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She lives and works in Ottawa. Trained in sculpture and drawing at the Ottawa School of Art (1994–2014) and the Sapumal Arts Foundation in Sri Lanka (2010–11), Dennery creates figurative bronze sculptures inspired by legends from her country of birth and other countries. Since 2011, her work has been exhibited in Canada. In 2015, she produced a bust of Jean-Jacques Dessalines for Maison du citoyen in Gatineau. Her works are in a number of private collections.
Presentation of the artwork
On the occasion of the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal, members of the Haitian community, represented by the Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal (BCHM), offered the city the gift of a life-size bust of Toussaint Louverture. Despite Louverture’s status as a national hero, there is no realistic portrayal of him. Inspired by paintings, coins, and sculptures of his likeness, the artist and the BCHM agreed to represent him in his middle years, reflective, worried about his weighty task, but with visionary features and a noble gaze. Great care was paid to his clothing and stance, showing him as a dignified, proud man. This statement by Louverture is engraved on the pedestal of the monument: “In overthrowing me, you have cut only the trunk of the tree of liberty. It will spring up again, for its roots are numerous and deep!” Associated events
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (1743–1803) was an Afro-Caribbean politician (from Santo Domingo) descended from African slaves. The figurehead of the Haitian revolution and a leader of the anti-colonialist uprisings, he became the first black governor for life of a colony in 1801. He was an abolitionist and is celebrated today as a hero of emancipation of slaves and a founding father of Haiti.
Dominique Dennery
Dominique Dennery was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She lives and works in Ottawa. Trained in sculpture and drawing at the Ottawa School of Art (1994–2014) and the Sapumal Arts Foundation in Sri Lanka (2010–11), Dennery creates figurative bronze sculptures inspired by legends from her country of birth and other countries. Since 2011, her work has been exhibited in Canada. In 2015, she produced a bust of Jean-Jacques Dessalines for Maison du citoyen in Gatineau. Her works are in a number of private collections.
