“On the spot”: Travelling artists and abolitionism, 1770–1830
2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/14788810.2011.562352
ISSN1740-4649
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
ResumoAbstract In the age of abolition, travelling artists played an important role as eyewitnesses of slave societies across the New World. While oil paintings appeared in the esteemed halls of the Royal Academy, watercolours and drawings were reproduced in a plethora of travel books and abolitionist literature. This essay argues for greater recognition of the unique role of the itinerant artist in the development of abolitionism, focusing in particular on the work of two European artists, Agostino Brunias (1730–96) and Augustus Earle (1793–1838). Artists such as Earle viewed the New World as a boundless source of fresh material that could potentially propel them to fame and fortune. Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802–58), on the other hand, was conscious of contributing to a global scientific mission, a Humboldtian imperative that by the 1820s propelled him and others to travel beyond the traditional itinerary of the grand tour. Some artists were implicated in the very fabric of slavery itself, particularly those in the British West Indies such as William Clark (working in the 1820s) and Richard Bridgens (1785–1846); others, particularly those in Brazil, expressed strong abolitionist sentiments. Fuelled by evangelical zeal to record all aspects of the New World, these artists recognized the importance of representing the harsh realities of slave life. Unlike those in the metropole who depicted slavery (most often in caustic satirical drawings), many travelling artists believed strongly in the evidential value of their images, a value attributed to their global mobility. The essay examines the varied and complex means by which visual culture played a significant and often overlooked role in the political struggles that beset the period.
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