The Arts
Black Christ In Bark Cloth
Jean Charlot Blends Christian and Polynesian Symbols
Jean Charlot grew up in France in the early l900’s surrounded by centuries of great religious art. As a devout Catholic he must have embraced this imagery. As a mature artist he developed his own unique Christian iconography, which he expressed movingly in paintings, frescoes and woodcuts.
What sets him apart from his Catholic predecessors is his openness of spirit and his compassionate inclusiveness. Charlot believed that we are all God’s children and that creed is eloquently reflected in his art. His work is now known the world over.
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Recently a set of wood block prints depicting the Stations of the Cross found their way to Hawaii and now hang in St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Waima-nalo on Oahu’s windward side. The church itself has more the appearance of a canoe house than a formal religious structure and the 14 prints hanging on wooden rafters high above a koa canoe look very much at home there.
Charlot carved the original wood blocks in Sezanne, France in l918. As the First World War erupted around him he kept them safe in his saddlebags and eventually took the prints with him when he and his mother went to Mexico in 1921.
Charlot’s grandfather was Aztec so Jean seemed to have a natural affinity for Mexico’s art and its colorful Christian symbolism. The next year he settled there and presented one set of the Stations of the Cross to the Mexican government. He learned Nahuatl and soon became part of the community of Mexican artists. This was a time when many Mexican artists. were making their mark in the international art world and Charlot worked closely with muralist Diego Rivera on major frescos.
In 1949, Charlot moved to Hawaii and again immersed himself in his new setting, learning the Hawaiian language and becoming part of the artistic and cultural community. Among his friends were artists Betty Eckert and Julie Mae Fraiser and linguist Samuel Elbert. The spirit of Pacific Island life soon captured his sensibilities and he and his wife began to travel widely in the South Pacific where they found and collected Oceanic art for their home.
Back in Hawaii, Charlot continued to create his inspired art works, now infused with images from his travels in the south Pacific as well as his beloved religious themes. In 1960, Monsignor Franz Wasner discovered Charlot’s painting, “The Compassionate Christ,” in a church on Kauai. Captivated by the painting, the Monsignor commissioned Charlot to create an altar panel for St. Xavier’s Catholic Mission in Naiserelagi, Ra, Fiji.
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Following Wasner’s vision, Charlot worked between October l962 and January l963 painting “Black Christ with Worshippers,” a triptych that depicts different ethnic groups of Fiji united under Christ. Two side frescoes, “St. Joseph’s Workshop” and “Annunciation” were done as a birthday present for his wife. The frescoes show a black Christ wearing a masi (bark cloth loincloth), a tanoa (kava bowl) rests at his feet. Worshippers are gathered around the Christ figure—an indigenous Fijian wearing ceremonial dress offers a tabua (whale’s tooth) on a magimagi (coconut fiber mat). Indo-Fijian worshippers wearing garlands lead sacred bulls into the scene.
Three decades later, Charlot’s Fiji murals badly needed repair and were carefully restored in l998. To this day the frescos remain a cherished part of the local Fijian community. In Hawaii, the Stations of the Cross in Waimanalo are greatly treasured and give another perspective on the diversity and prolific work of Jean Charlot.
