Dürer’s 16th Century ‘Portrait of An African Man’.

[EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues]

Isn’t this just the most beautiful thing? Surely drawn with the greatest love and empathy? It’s on loan to the Rijksmuseum for an exhibition. In an article in The Times today they say no one can know what was in Dürer’s mind when he made this portrait …

Siablue "tenderness", yes. That's the word.
The more I look at it, and the more I read around it, the significance of that picture grows.

(I remember you posting a good while back now. I remember your name. I hope that you and little one are moving forward. Be proud of yourself, and all that you have achieved.x)

That's the question, isn't it? @TheBlackDarner I can say there's definitely a possibility of that. I would've said we may never know but the way things are coming to light nowadays, it may just be a matter of time before some of these questions are answered. I could've sworn I saw something to that effect as I was reading one of the articles but I can't remember which one.

@Siablue Yes Olivette's book sounds really promising. I also think some of these paintings will start showing up as many things are uncovered. I really doubt they're lost completely. But we'll see.

You can see his character even though it was so long ago.

What I adore is that it’s not just the sitter we see, but the (loving?) gaze of the artist. And it’s almost amusing to observe the contrast between the sensuous care taken over the shading under the man’s chin and the almost cursory few lines expended on the man’s garments.

Thank you for asking how I am @TheBlackDarner we are doing much better now.

I wonder if some of the paintings where we don’t know who the subject or the artist is will turn out to have been by black artists. I remember seeing this painting in the Victoria and Albert Museum a while ago. The painting was done by an unknown artist who was living in Jamaica.
www.vam.ac.uk/articles/francis-williams-a-portrait-of-a-writer

That’s marvellous, Siablue, thank you. Definitely not a picture I’ve seen before. And yes, fascinating background. What a shame the artist’s descendants don’t have possession of this artefact.

Siablue So good to hear you are thriving!
That's such an interesting portrait. I was reading about the use of symbolism in it, the globe and so on, to show he was a man of wealth and education. A black artist, it's fairly certain, copying the styles of Europe of the time. Yet - see how the bright colours of Jamaica leak into it !

(How sad that his father, having been made a freeman, went onto make wealth himself from the slave trade. There are always those in history willing to sell their souls to the devil for money and privilege)

For anyone interested, I recently came across the story and works of 19th century sculptor and artist, Edmonia Lewis, whose work is being exhibited at Stuart Mansion on the Isle of Bute, Scotland to mark Black History Month. She sadly, seems to be yet another female internationally acclaimed artist of colour, abandoned by history.

www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sculptor-edmonia-lewis-shattered-gender-race-expectations-19th-century-america-180972934/

@AuntMasha
What a talent! My heart broke at her being thrown out of the College on trumped up charges. That Cleopatra statue is incredible isn't it?