Hey there, everything good? First of all I am a fan, as a history enthusiast and as an art enthusiastic, and for all your good work, thank you very much. I am also a brazilian man, and for the last picture, thank you again, but I think i can contribute somehow. We have here quite a few black artists, not only moderns, but in all eras. One of the most famous was "mulatto" (sorry if that is offensive in some way, I just dont have any other word for it). (continues...)
And for the collars and shakles: I dont think that was that common, at least in Brazil, because I have never seen nothing affirming that. And I can guarant that slavery here was as harsh as in any other place it happened. Thank you again, and sorry for any mistakes.
Thanks for the contribution. The art history of Brazil as taught in the U.S. is somewhere between non-existent and completely horrible. I mean, the English Wiki page for it is just…god-awful:
Yes, this person said “primitive state”.
Anyone reading this, please do me a favor and read this: Why Native American Art Doesn’t Belong in Natural History Museums.
Artwork by and of people of color is routinely marginalized and devalued in museums, education, and popular culture. Pay attention to sources and citation-how many works are held by “ethnography” or “Natural history” museums?
After all, the Yale Center for British Art has sold off a large portion of its Augustino Brunias collection because it’s somehow not British enough, according to this curator:
I would recommend the sale of the Brunias paintings…for the arguments below:
1. Brunias is not English and very, very minor.
2. The paintings are Mr. Mellon’s and we have told him that we intend no further changes to the lists of sales.
3. His books on West Indian subject matter are classed among his “Americana”.
4. We have the prints. The paintings may or may not be for or after the engravings. They are not of high quality.
5. Prof. Thompson has the photographs and slides.
6. They have tenuous connection with British Studies but, I suppose, could, if Mr. Mellon were persuaded, be offered to the Afro-American Cultural Center (if they have anywhere to look after them) or to the Ethnography department at the Peabody. He added: “I do not think we ought to stub our toe over such an unimportant pebble.”
The paintings being discussed can be viewed here under the tag “Agostino Brunias”.
So, it comes as very little of a surprise to me that a lot of what was written about this painting on the source website seems to be trying to come up with some sort of explanation for its existence, and tries to fit it into some kind of already-existing narrative:
When maybe what we need to do is change the narrative.