Philomé Obin’s (b. 1892 in Cap-Haitien; d. 1986 in Cap-Haitien) Crucifixion de Charlemagne Péralte pour la Liberté (The Crucifixion of Charlemagne Péralte for Freedom)depicts the body of Haitian revolutionary Charlemagne Péralte who was allegedly assassinated by the US Marines. The painting is based on a ubiquitous photograph of Péralte that the Marines staged, captured, and distributed throughout Haiti in order to threaten other revolutionaries, which inadvertently positioned him as a martyr in the fight against US occupation (1915–34). Obin’s painting reframes this event through the “Cap-Haitien” style of painting for which he is known, reclaiming Péralte’s image on vernacular Haitian terms.
