The Crowning of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines - Puzzles

This powerful piece by Haitian artist Thony Loui reimagines the historic coronation of Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti, the birth of the world’s first independent Black republic. Inspired by the 1806 engraving (The Holbarn Archive) and featured in Haïti, un pays unique au monde by Lilas Desquiron, the artwork honors this foundational moment.

Loui adds legendary figures like Tant Toya, the warrior said to have trained Dessalines, and Claire Heureuse, his wife, symbolizing the strength of Haitian women in nation-building.