Medieval European Depictions of Black People in Context
wildseedcometrue said:
I’m surprised you haven’t had more Magi in here before! I grew up typically seeing one of the Magi portrayed as black (although sometimes in horrific minstrelsy style).
*descends into truly maniacal laughter*
*wipes tear*
Apparently you missed Adorationpalooza?
And that was just in one week.
There’s also all the other Adoration paintings I posted at other times, too. It’s one of the most prolific subjects in European Art ever; I think only the Crucifixion beat it for most painted, at least.
As for “minstrelsy style”; these paintings predate the popularity of racist minstrel shows by a fair margin. (I don’t know if you’re speaking of images you’ve seen from the past, from this blog, or currently produced depictions, but we should discuss it anyway.) The Adoration subject featuring Balthazar, the Black King, has a very important symbolic value: As the sign of solidarity between Christians of all nations of the world, and as the source of the wealth that drove the Renaissance in Europe.
The signs of racial Othering in Medieval and Renaissance Art have some connection to later racist caricatures, but it’s necessary to keep in mind that a very black-skinned standard of beauty in European art was in place before racist Enlightenment philosophy and aesthetics overrode previous beauty standards.
For example, this title Illustration for the Song of Solomon from a Bohemian Psalter:
A line of which reads, “I am black, but comely/beautiful.”
Many Medieval European artworks of the Queen of Sheba (a legendary beauty) depict her with black, blue, and even purple skin:
(Austria, 1411)
(Bohemia, before 1405)
(France, 1181)
And of course, the Black Virgins of Europe were considered the most holy and also the most beautiful for centuries:
(Italy, before 700 A.D.)
Even the great Hieronymus Bosch, in his ode to innocent sexuality, The Garden of Earthly Delights, depicts only youthful beauties glowing with health and either milk-white or ebony-black skin:
So, when you see an Adoration painting in which the Black king has very black skin and red lips and cheeks, this isn’t caricature; those came later. The flush of health, fervor and emotion as witness to the birth of Jesus is meant to be visible and tangible to the viewer.
(Netherlands, 1515)
Saint Maurice was sometimes depicted in a similar fashion, and there’s no denying his importance.
(Germany, 1520s)
(Germany, 1525)
In summation, very dark skin wasn’t stigmatized, considered unattractive or a “caricature” until the Enlightenment in Europe and subsequent colonial and chattel slavery related horrors.
It’s understandable to see some of these depictions of Black people from the European past and think they must be racial caricatures, and of course it’s worth discussion and analysis. After all, so much of this blog is about how these images affect us when we view them today. But it’s important to remember that the oppressive power structures in place in today’s post colonial world didn’t exist back then, and these images did not have to power to perpetuate racist violence in their time that exaggerated racialized features in art do today.
In fact, to learn more, I highly recommend the video I recently linked to on the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia; it shows how dehumanizing images continue to harm Black people today. For a European perspective, this article about the racist Zwarte Piet Tradition in the Netherlands demonstrates how is harmful and dehumanizing as well.
Racial Othering even in pre- or proto-racist European eras should honestly be a field of study in and of itself; I also post non-European artworks that depict racially Othered Europeans both to provide balance and to demonstrate that they do not invoke the same visceral response than some of the racially Othered depictions of Black people do, because they do not have the same power to oppress or harm.
