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‘Princess
Rákóczi’ by Nicolas de Largillierre,
probably 1720
This portrait by French artist Nicolas de Largillierre
is a portrait of Charlotte Amelia, Princess Rákóczi,
and an unknown child servant.
A significant number of paintings of black people
show them as servants. They were used as a sign
of affluence and luxury, part of the social display
of their masters and mistresses (who were almost
always white). The power relationship between servant
and employer reflected the political and economic
relationship between Africa and Europe for many
centuries.
Very little is known about Princess Rákóczi,
but we do know that her husband, Francis, is still
celebrated as a national hero in his native Hungary,
because he fought for Hungarian independence from
the Austrian Empire. When her husband was imprisoned
in the fortress of Wiener Neustadt (south of Vienna)
after being caught by an Austrian spy, Princess
Rákóczi helped him to escape with
the aid of the prison commander.
© The National Gallery, London
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