Subjective Naturalism: The Black Male In Nineteenth Century Art

 “This painting looks real!”  What a common refrain.  To many, art that accurately reflects life is deserving of the highest praise.  The problem comes when one does not stop to question whether this “realistic” painting truly depicts reality.  For art, by its nature, tells a story.  There is no such thing as neutrality in the realm of art.  Art which is heavily stylized or abstracted forces the viewer to search for the meaning.  But art which looks at first glance like real life can be deceiving.  There is always more than meets the eye.

We would call paintings which look like “real life” naturalistic.  But even this is influenced by the perspective of the artist.  What they perceive as being the natural way of things will be conveyed in their work.  In this collection, all of the figures could be described as naturalistic.  Though the styles certainly vary, the forms of these figures reflect what we know to be true.  Yet we must consider more than just the forms.  What does each painting say about how the artist views the black male?  What does it say about the racial views of the time?  Does the artist agree with them?  Challenge them?  

We invite you to take a journey through time and ponder these questions.  Do not let yourself fall into the delusion of thinking these paintings are mere “copies” of life.  Consider the time and context into which each was painted. Ask the deeper questions.  Learn to understand the subjectivity of naturalism.  

Eugene Delacroix, Portrait of a Turk in a Turban, 1826

47 x 38 cm, Pastel on Paper

Musee National Eugene Delacroix

Delacroix is perhaps one of the figurehead artists of the French Restoration period.  At the time, there were many black models in Paris, and Delecroix painted them abundantly.  Though his renditions of female models were much more sensual, his male portraits, such as this Portrait of a Turk in a Turban, contain a decided dignity and fortitude of character.  In the 1830s, Delecroix traveled to North Africa in hopes of discovering a more “primitive” culture.  Here, the black man is a blank canvas used to convey an exotic culture.

William Mulready, The Toy-Seller, 1857-63

112 x 142 cm, Oil on canvas

The National Gallery of Ireland

This painting by the Irish artist William Mulready depicts a white mother and child standing next to a black man.  The title helps us understand the man as trying to interest the child in a toy.  Yet the baby is visibly uncomfortable, and turns his gaze from the man to the sunflowers in the corner of the painting.  The man looks perfectly innocent.  But through value and symbolism, Mulready injects a clear moral judgment into this work.  The black man is seen as a spectacle, an oddity, something to shy away from.

Paul Cezanne, Le Negro Scipion, 1867

107 cm × 83 cm, Oil on Canvas

Museu de Arte de São Paulo

Here we have another rendition of a black french model by a white french painter.  Cezanne, a foundational post-impressionist artist, made this of the model Scipion, who appears in many other artist’s works as well.  The painting was obtained by Claude Monet and kept in his private collection for over a decade; it is said he considered it to be “a work of the greatest strength.”  Though the painting seems wholly innocent, many critics interpreted it as a superb rendition of racial “truth,” finding “logic” in the “lazy and deceitful” figure.

Winslow Homer, The Bather, 1899

36.7 x 53.5 cm, Watercolor on Paper,

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10.228.8

Homer is one artist who has generally been praised for his depictions of black figures.  Especially as an American painting in the emancipation period, when violent characterizations of blacks were increasing in prevalence, Homer painted African Americans as they were, in their own contexts.  Particularly lauded are his Caribbean works, which include The Bather.  Some critics project sensuality onto these works, given the many scarcely-clad male figures.  But others see it as Homer’s attempt as representing a discriminated group without explicit white presence; though even in the background of this painting he notes their inescapable dominance.  

George Bellows, Both Members of This Club, 1909

115 cm × 160.5 cm, Oil on Canvas

National Gallery of Art, DC

Originally titled “A Nigger and a White Man,” this painting by the Ashcan artist George Bellows depicts a black boxer overpowering his white opponent.  The new title reflects the common practice of making boxers temporary sports club members in order to circumvent New York City laws prohibiting fighting for money.  Racial tensions were high in this underground scene, and many saw individual fighters as representing their race (a later painting by Bellows was titled “Savior of His Race.”)  The turn of the century saw much innovation in not just art but also political thought.  Yet discriminatory racial theories were not fading away.

Max Slevogt, Der Sieger (The Victor), 1912

150 x 100 cm, Oil on canvas

Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf

Finally we have Der Sieger by Max Slevogt, the German painter.  It depicts a Somali man standing triumphantly over three naked white women.  It is sensual and erotic.  The alternate title is “War Booty,” highlighting the role of the white women as possessions of the black man.  Though the studio model would have been a fully European black man, here Slevogt returns him to Africa and places him in the realm of “savage sexuality.”  Only a few decades before the civil rights movement, this painting shows one prevalent view of where the black man belongs.