@medievalpoc / medievalpoc.tumblr.com
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink:
“Two black page-boys”, Jacques-André Portail, first half of the 18th century.
Remember THIS post? Well, @talleyrandsghost sent this higher quality version of the image and I LOVE it u.u Those pages look better now <3
British (English) School
'John Meller's Coachboy' (painted over an early 18th century portrait of John Hanby, aged 25)
England (c. 1770)
Oil on Canvas, 45 x 36 in
This rather interesting portrait of a household musician has a posthumous set of verses written about his life. In the five years since I first posted this portrait, it looks like they’ve been transcribed here!
William Hoare of Bath
Two Portraits of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, called Job ben Solomon
England (1733)
Oil on canvas
Qatar Museums Authority; Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Portrait of A “Mulatto” Aristocrat in Armor
France (c. 1680-1730)
Oil on Canvas, 82.5 x 64.5 cm.
John Hamilton Mortimer
Portrait thought to be of Tan Che Qua, resident of London between 1769 and about 1772
England (c. 1769)
Copy After Ezra Ames (1768 - 1836)
Portrait of Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)
Joshua Reynolds
The Children of Edward Holden Cruttenden with Indian Ayah
England (1759)
A Disabled Black Flower-Seller Carts his Wares Through Town
England (c. 1790)
Hand-coloured stipple engraving on paper
This print shows a black flower-seller carting his wares through a British town. It is not possible to tell whether this print was based on a real person, or is an imaginary scene. However, there were significant numbers of black people in many British towns, particularly London and other ports, such as Liverpool and Bristol, by the end of the 18th century, so a scene like this would not have been uncommon. This man is shown earning his living from selling flowers. His wooden (peg) legs suggest that he may previously have been a sailor. The loss of one's legs was then an occupational hazard in the navy, when sea fights were mostly duels between cannon-laden, timber-built warships. Many black men served in the British navy in the 18th century.
Unknown
Portrait of Francis Williams, Scholar of Jamaica
European School (c. 1745)
Oil on Canvas, 66 x 50.1 cm.
There were conventions in representing scholarly men, and the artist has used several of them here. Williams is shown as a scholar in his book-lined study, with a globe of the world, and a celestial globe on the table. Dividers and other instruments are also strewn on the table. All this indicates that he has studied astronomy, mathematics and geography.
Portrait of Kalmyk Girl Annushka
Russia (1767)
Annushka, a Kalmyk girl of Western Mongolian ancestry, was a serf and pupil of Countess Varvara Sheremeteva, daughter of Count Sheremetev. Argunov himself was a serf of Count Sheremetev (1713-1788). Annushka is holding a portrait of the late Countess.
Henry Edridge
Portrait of Francis Barber
England (c. 1785)
Watercolor on Paper
Detail of West African crewman from John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark, 1778. image via
Rosalba Carriera
Italy (c. 1712)
Pastel on blue paper; 34 x 28 cm.
Giambattista Tiepolo
The Banquet of Cleopatra (detail)
Italy (c. 1743–44)
Print after Mather Brown
Portrait of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (25 December 1745–10 June 1799) was a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave. During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the 'Legion St.-Georges,' the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. [text via]
Bust of a Man
England (1748)
Black stone (pietra di paragone) on a yellow Siena marble socle; 69.9 × 50.2 × 26.7 cm, 52.6173 kg
