Primitive artist Jean-Baptiste Jean was born April 21, 1953, in Cap-Haitian and began to paint in 1972 as a student of Philome Obin. He also studied at the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince, and formally joined it in 1973. He is known as a Third Generation Master of the Northern School. Jean-Baptiste Jean passed away in 2002. His art was widely collected by the late American film producer Jonathan Demme and cited in many books.