Jean-Baptiste & Joseph Maurice (Haitians, 1932-Joseph 1977)

Haitian classical fine sculptors Jean-Baptiste and Joseph Maurice were twins born in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti 1932. Their introduction to woodworking began at fifteen in a cabinetmaking workshop in their hometown. A growing interest in this material led them to the Professional School of Cap-Haitien, where they worked on ornamental pieces that brought them closer to sculpture. They follow a correspondence course in artistic anatomy to devote themselves entirely to it. In these courses, it is a question of learning from drawn plates showing the body at rest or in movement, plates which are, in a way, figurative descriptions. This learning is essential for any artist who wants to represent the human body faithfully. This teaching shows the artist's intelligence in the shapes that appear on the body's surface. When these forms become apparent to the artist, they can be faithfully rendered in sculpted material or a drawing. The Maurice twins learned well, and together, they created works of which some have said: "All they lack is speech." The characters – especially women – sculpted are undeniably Haitian. They are by clothing and also by facial features. We do not know the processes used by the Maurice brothers, but they likely worked from live models to make preliminary sketches. Having only Haitian models, respecting the entirety of the model, they necessarily created Haitian images. When Joseph Maurice died in 1977, the twins' production was greatly affected. (Source: Gerald Alexis, Le Nouvelliste, May 2017). A sculpture by the Maurice twins is a rare collectible and valuable in the art market.