Portrait of a Man, Joseph Ducreux.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Portrait by Agostino Brunias
Creator Agostino Brunias, 1728-1796, Italian, active in Britain (1758-1770; 1777-1780s) Title A Mother with her Son and a Pony Date ca. 1775 Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions 13 x 11 inches (33 x 27.9 cm) Inscription(s)/ Marks/ Lettering No inscription, Not signed, not dated Credit Line Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection Accession Number B2009.12.1 Collection Paintings and Sculpture
Portrait by Marie Victoire Lemoine
Potrait by Girodet
A Directoire dandy in 1797, by Girodet; Portrait of J. B. Belley, Deputy for Saint-Domingue.
Portrait by Johann Zoffany
Intriguing: This 1779 portrait, by Johann Zoffany, shows Dido Elizabeth Belle, seemingly the equal of her playmate Lady Elizabeth Murray
Solomon Northup (12 Years A Slave)
The African-American musician has occupied a crucial space in American history. The African-American violinist is but one of these musicians. Since bondage, they have with their music, shown a preponderance of excellent artistry. The African-American violinist has navigated huge challenges in pursuit to education and training on a particular instrument that embodied the elite in European society. These violinists have over time, masterfully incorporated overwhelming ancient African rhythms and minor tones into European music theory. As such, the violinist has improvised a musical genre where one did not exist. They used music to carve out spaces of privilege and have certainly tasted tiny bits of liberty in an era of enslavement. Solomon Northup notes his peculiar status as a violinist while held captive in his 1853 narrative:
Alas! Had it not been for my beloved violin, I scarcely can conceive how I could have endured the long years of bondage. It introduced me to great houses–relieved me of many days’ of labor in the field–supplied me with conveniences for my cabin with pipes and tobacco and extra pairs of shoes, and oftentimes led me away from the presence of a hard master . .
Joseph Antonio Emidy
Joseph Antonio Emidy (1775 – 23 April 1835) was a Guinea-born musician who was enslaved in early life, before becoming a notable and celebrated violinist and composer in Cornwall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1xqnVqVvzY&list=PLw5wzuoqoKMqPFCoOZFCNqK4ytHHuJw-b
this is an re-enactment.
Portrait by Joshua Reynolds
JOSHUA REYNOLDS, PORTRAIT OF A BLACK MAN, CIRCA 1770.
OIL ON CANVAS, 78.7 X 63.7 CM. HOUSTON, MENIL COLLECTION, 83-103 DJ.
Lucy Terry
Lucy Terry Prince, often credited as simply Lucy Terry, (c. 1730–1821) was brought to Rhode Island as a slave from Africa. Her future husband purchased her freedom before their marriage in 1756. She composed a ballad, "Bars Fight", about a 1746 incident. It was preserved orally until being published in 1855. It is considered the oldest known work of literature by an African American.[1][2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ4tNuR24rY
Jupiter Hammon
Jupiter Hammon (October 17, 1711 – before 1806) was a black poet who in 1761 became the first African-American writer to be published in the present-day United States. Additional poems and sermons were also published. Born into slavery,Hammon was never emancipated.
Salvation comes by Jesus Christ alone,
The only Son of God;
Redemption now to every one,
That love his holy Word.
Dear Jesus we would fly to Thee,
And leave off every Sin,
Thy tender Mercy well agree;
Salvation from our King.
Salvation comes now from the Lord,
Our victorious King;
His holy Name be well ador'd,
Salvation surely bring.
Dear Jesus give thy Spirit now,
Thy Grace to every Nation,
That han't the Lord to whom we bow,
The Author of Salvation.
Dear Jesus unto Thee we cry,
Give us thy Preparation;
Turn not away thy tender Eye;
We seek thy true Salvation.
Salvation comes from God we know,
The true and only One;
It's well agreed and certain true,
He gave his only Son.
Lord hear our penetential Cry:
Salvation from above;
It is the Lord that doth supply,
With his Redeeming Love.
Dear Jesus by thy precious Blood,
The World Redemption have:
Salvation comes now from the Lord,
He being thy captive Slave.
Dear Jesus let the Nations cry,
And all the People say,
Salvation comes from Christ on high,
Haste on Tribunal Day.
We cry as Sinners to the Lord,
Salvation to obtain;
It is firmly fixt his holy Word,
Ye shall not cry in vain.
Dear Jesus unto Thee we cry,
And make our Lamentation:
O let our Prayers ascend on high;
We felt thy Salvation.
Lord turn our dark benighted Souls;
Give us a true Motion,
And let the Hearts of all the World,
Make Christ their Salvation.
Ten Thousand Angels cry to Thee,
Yea louder than the Ocean.
Thou art the Lord, we plainly see;
Thou art the true Salvation.
Now is the Day, excepted Time;
The Day of Salvation;
Increase your Faith, do not repine:
Awake ye every Nation.
Lord unto whom now shall we go,
Or seek a safe Abode;
Thou hast the Word Salvation too
The only Son of God.
Ho! every one that hunger hath,
Or pineth after me,
Salvation be thy leading Staff,
To set the Sinner free.
Dear Jesus unto Thee we fly;
Depart, depart from Sin,
Salvation doth at length supply,
The Glory of our King.
Come ye Blessed of the Lord,
Salvation gently given;
O turn your Hearts, accept the Word,
Your Souls are fit for Heaven.
Dear Jesus we now turn to Thee,
Salvation to obtain;
Our Hearts and Souls do meet again,
To magnify thy Name.
Come holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,
The Object of our Care;
Salvation doth increase our Love;
Our Hearts hath felt thy fear.
Now Glory be to God on High,
Salvation high and low;
And thus the Soul on Christ rely,
To Heaven surely go.
Come Blessed Jesus, Heavenly Dove,
Accept Repentance here;
Salvation give, with tender Love;
Let us with Angels share.
FINIS.
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was the first published African-American female poet.[1] Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write, and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
At the age of 14, Phillis published a poem in the Rhode Island Mercury. The poem is based on a shipwreck and the miraculous escape of its survivors. "On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,"like the most fashionable 18th century English poetry, makes full use of classical allusion:
"On Messrs Hussey and Coffin"
Did Fear and Danger so perplex your Mind,
As made you fearful of the Whistling Wind?
Was it not Boreas knit his angry Brow
Against you? or did Consideration bow?
To lend you Aid, did not his Winds combine?
To stop your passage with a churlish Line,
Did haughty Eolus with Contempt look down
With Aspect windy, and a study'd Frown?
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 1875 – 1 September 1912) was an English composer of Creole descent who achieved such success that he was once called the "African Mahler"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2nYhQjNpp0
Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers)
Alexandre Dumas (French: [a.lɛk.sɑ̃dʁ dy.ma], born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie [dy.ma da.vi də la pa.jə.tʁi]; 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870),[1] also known as Alexandre Dumas, père, was a French writer. His works have been translated into nearly 100 languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of high adventure were originally published as serials, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century for nearly 200 films. Dumas' last novel, The Knight of Sainte-Hermine, unfinished at his death, was completed by a scholar and published in 2005, becoming a bestseller. It was published in English in 2008 as The Last Cavalier.
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (/ˈpʊʃkɪn/;[1] Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин, tr. Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin; IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr sʲɪˈrɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn] (
listen); 6 June [O.S. 26 May] 1799 – 10 February [O.S.29 January] 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era[2] who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet[3][4][5][6] and the founder of modern Russian literature.[7][8]
listen); 6 June [O.S. 26 May] 1799 – 10 February [O.S.29 January] 1837) was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era[2] who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet[3][4][5][6] and the founder of modern Russian literature.[7][8]
Pushkin was born into Russian nobility in Moscow. His matrilineal great grandfather was Abram Gannibal, who was brought over as a slave from what is now Cameroon.[9] Pushkin published his first poem at the age of fifteen, and was widely recognized by the literary establishment by the time of his graduation from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.
While under the strict surveillance of the Tsar's political police and unable to publish, Pushkin wrote his most famous play, the drama Boris Godunov. His novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, was serialized between 1825 and 1832.
Notoriously touchy about his honour, Pushkin fought as many as twenty-nine duels, and was fatally wounded in such an encounter with Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès. Pushkin had accused d'Anthès, a French officer serving with the Chevalier Guard Regiment of attempting to seduce the poet's wife, Natalya Pushkina.
George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower
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George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (11 October 1778–29 February 1860)[1] was an Afro-European born in Poland. He grew to be a virtuoso violinist, living in England for much of his life. He was born in Biała Podlaskain Galicia, where his father worked for Hieronim Wincenty Radziwiłł, in 1778. He was baptised Hieronimo Hyppolito de Augusto on 11 October 1778.[2]
Listen to his work here ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0KvfgEN3VE
Joseph Bologne
Joseph Bologne,
Chevalier de Saint-Georges (French: also Saint-George and Joseph Boulogne; December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799)[1] was a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave.[2] During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the 'Légion St.-Georges,'[3] the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. Today the Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the first classical composer of African ancestry.
Listen to his music here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvSYajYByPY
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797),[3] known in his lifetime as Gustavus Vassa (/ˈvæsə/),[4] was a prominent African in London, a freed slave who supported the British movement to end the slave trade. His autobiography, published in 1789 and attracting wide attention, was considered highly influential in gaining passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended the African trade for Britain and its colonies.
In London, Equiano (identifying as Gustavus Vassa during his lifetime) was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of prominent Africans living in Britain, and he was active among leaders of the anti-slave trade movement in the 1780s. He published his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789), which depicted the horrors of slavery. The first-known slave narrative, it went through nine editions and aided passage of the British Slave Trade Act of 1807, which abolished the African slave trade.[6] Since 1967, his memoir has been regarded as the "true beginning of modern African literature".[7]
Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho(c. 1729 – 14 December 1780) was a composer, actor, and writer. He is the first known Black Briton to vote in a British election. He gained fame in his time as "the extraordinary Negro", and to 18th-century British abolitionists he became a symbol of the humanity of Africans and immorality of the slave trade.[4] The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African, edited and published two years after his death, is one of the earliest accounts of African slavery written in English by a former slave of Spanish and English families.
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