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Secondary sourcePainting1889

Toussaint-Louverture Engraved Portrait

H. Rousseau (design), L. Dumont (engraving) · 1889

A late 19th-century engraved portrait of Toussaint Louverture in military dress, made long after his death.

A later imagined portrait of Toussaint Louverture made for a biographical work decades after his death.

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Black and white engraving of a man in a plumed bicorne hat with a rosette, wearing a high-collared military coat with star insignia and ornate braided trim. He gazes sideways with a slight smile. Signed L. Dumont at lower right.
H. Rousseau (design) and L. Dumont (engraving), Toussaint-Louverture portrait, 1889.

About this source

What it is

This engraving, designed by H. Rousseau and engraved by L. Dumont, is a portrait of Toussaint Louverture made in 1889, nearly a century after his death, likely for a biographical publication.

Why it matters

Toussaint Louverture led the Haitian Revolution, which abolished slavery and brought independence to Haiti. Because he died long before this image was made, it reflects how later generations imagined and memorialized him as a military and political leader, rather than how he actually looked.

Look closer

  • What details in his uniform and pose suggest how the artist wanted him to be seen?
  • Since this was made decades after his death, what might the artist have used as a reference?
  • How might this portrait shape the way people remember Toussaint today?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Toussaint Louverture on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Book cover in green, pink, red, blue, black and orange marbled paper with a black spine on the left. A white label at top left shows handwritten call numbers 'Lk 554' and 'g°'. Text at bottom reads 'Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France'.Document

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Toussaint Louverture · 1801

Title page of a book, a scan of a yellowed printed page reading 'Mémoires du Général Toussaint-L'Ouverture, écrits par lui-même', with a publisher's ornament and 'Paris, Pagnerre, Libraire-Éditeur, 1853' at the bottom. The book is attributed to Saint-Remy, not handwritten manuscript.Book

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Mémoires du Général Toussaint-L'Ouverture écrits par lui-même

Toussaint Louverture · 1853 (text written 1802)

Painted portrait of a man in a dark-blue and red military uniform with gold epaulettes, a white sash with gold stars, and white trousers. He holds a folded paper in his right hand and stands before a stormy blue sky and dark mountains, with a sword hilt visible at his left side.Painting

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Général Toussaint Louverture

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Sepia-toned engraving of a standing man in a black top hat with a tall plume, a dark military-style coat with chevron-patterned sleeves, and a sash at the waist. He holds a folded paper in one hand and a curved sabre in the other. Behind him are a fortified hillside, a small building on top, palm trees, and a second figure in uniform with a plumed hat.Painting

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19th century engraving of L'Ouverture

J. Barlow, after a sketch by Marcus Rainsford · 19th century

Sepia engraving of a scene in a tropical landscape: a tall officer in a plumed hat and uniform stands center, receiving a letter from a man in a long coat at right, while a woman in a long dress, children, and other figures gather around, with palm fronds and trees behind.Painting

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