Bio: 

The great designer Alber Joseph Mangonès was trained at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts of Brussels, one of Europe's most prestigious institutions, and at Cornell University in New York where he studied architecture between 1939 and 1942, and also received a gold medal for excellence. In 1944, Albert Mangonès was one of the founders of the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince, which plays an important role in the discovery of popular painters of Haiti. In 1948, he served as director-general of the seaside boulevard project in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. A model for similar seaside projects throughout the Caribbean, the boulevard features promenades, pavilions and colorfully lighted musical fountains. His monumental sculpture “The Unknown Fugitive Slave” became a symbol of Haiti. The sculpture, which stands in the central plaza in front of the National Palace, depicts a runaway slave holding a conch shell to his lips; a reminder of the call to rebellion against slave-holding France. As the founder in 1979 of Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National (ISPAN), the Institute for the Protection of the National Heritage, Mangonès helped pioneer the preservation of Haiti's architectural heritage. He participated in the restoration of the Citadelle Laferrière, and the historic National Park including the Sans-Souci Palace and the Ramiers site in the Nord department of Haiti, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He devoted the final years of his career to restoring the Citadel.

 

Year of Elevation: 

1948

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Featured Project Name: 

Le Marron Inconnu

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Featured Project Location: 

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

1967

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Role in Featured Project: 

Sculptor

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Featured Project Description:

Le Marron Inconnu de Port au prince ("The Unknown Maroon"), is a bronze statue of a runaway slave, better known as a maroon, standing in the center of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The statue is regarded as a symbol of black liberation commemorating in particular, the rallying cry that sparked the Haitian Revolution and the abolishment of slavery. Situated across from the National Palace, it is the nation's most iconic representation of the struggle for freedom.

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Photography Credit:

unknown