Black Presence in National Gallery Paintings

Who are you?

Lots of painted images of black people don't fit easily into categories at all. These pictures remind us of the diversity of black presence in art, and suggest that we shouldn't assume that all of the black people we see in Western European painting are servants, or that they are necessarily disempowered. Some are wealthily dressed, expressing their opinions in conversation with other people. We can see traders, and people going about their day to day business.

Often, we don't know for sure who these people are. Van Dyck has painted an enigmatic black man in his portrait of an art connoisseur. Is this man an assistant? Is he there to provide a contrast with the marble sculpture he indicates? Might he be another art dealer, working with the man at the right of the painting?

We don't know - but that leaves room for all sorts of possibilities. Being aware of black presence in European paintings is just the beginning.

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