Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century
In the middle of the eighteenth century a shift in the artistic representation of black people became perceptible in England. Several paintings illustrated a new attitude to the question of identity and differences between the races. Gainsborough’s portrait of Ignatius Sancho shows a gentleman as we...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses universitaires de Rennes
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Revue LISA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/8735 |
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| author | Élisabeth Martichou |
| author_facet | Élisabeth Martichou |
| author_sort | Élisabeth Martichou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the middle of the eighteenth century a shift in the artistic representation of black people became perceptible in England. Several paintings illustrated a new attitude to the question of identity and differences between the races. Gainsborough’s portrait of Ignatius Sancho shows a gentleman as well as a man of feeling, who nevertheless is kept at a distance from the viewer. Wright of Derby’s Two Girls with a Black Servant hints at a possible equality betwen the children while reminding us of the black girl’s current inferior status. In his portrait of Omai Reynolds fuses signs of exotic alterity and classical cultural references. In Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark the black man’s heroic status is undermined by suggestions of passivity. Thus otherness was made acceptable by the use of occidental cultural models, sentiment and noble savagery, but difference was never completely erased. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-074477b458924d1684f679ca639d78b0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1762-6153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-07-01 |
| publisher | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue LISA |
| spelling | doaj-art-074477b458924d1684f679ca639d78b02025-01-06T09:03:49ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532015-07-011310.4000/lisa.8735Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth CenturyÉlisabeth MartichouIn the middle of the eighteenth century a shift in the artistic representation of black people became perceptible in England. Several paintings illustrated a new attitude to the question of identity and differences between the races. Gainsborough’s portrait of Ignatius Sancho shows a gentleman as well as a man of feeling, who nevertheless is kept at a distance from the viewer. Wright of Derby’s Two Girls with a Black Servant hints at a possible equality betwen the children while reminding us of the black girl’s current inferior status. In his portrait of Omai Reynolds fuses signs of exotic alterity and classical cultural references. In Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark the black man’s heroic status is undermined by suggestions of passivity. Thus otherness was made acceptable by the use of occidental cultural models, sentiment and noble savagery, but difference was never completely erased.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/8735slaverynoble savageReynolds JoshuaGainsboroughWright of DerbySingleton Copley |
| spellingShingle | Élisabeth Martichou Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century Revue LISA slavery noble savage Reynolds Joshua Gainsborough Wright of Derby Singleton Copley |
| title | Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century |
| title_full | Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century |
| title_fullStr | Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century |
| title_short | Bridging the Gap between Self and Other ? Pictorial Representation of Blacks in England in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century |
| title_sort | bridging the gap between self and other pictorial representation of blacks in england in the middle of the eighteenth century |
| topic | slavery noble savage Reynolds Joshua Gainsborough Wright of Derby Singleton Copley |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/8735 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elisabethmartichou bridgingthegapbetweenselfandotherpictorialrepresentationofblacksinenglandinthemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury |