Final Blog Post

Throughout my previous blog posts, I have been exploring the relationship between the slave child and the Duchess in The Duchess of Portsmouth. This research led me to shockingly numerous connections not only within the artwork itself but to other artwork before and after it in history. These connections were to other pieces of artwork that ranged in looking eerily similar to The Duchess, like Titian's portrait of Laura Dianti, to being of American origin and only being linked merely by the presence of a slave and a noble in the portrait. I was not surprised to find that while much was known about the commissioner of the portrait (The European or American in the picture) next to nothing was known about the slave shown and only within historical context can anything be speculated. However, as time progresses and these paintings are looked at in a modern light, people are beginning to see these portraits as portraying two people, not just the one that at the time would have possessed the focus of the painting. So in a way these people, whom in their lifetimes would have been looked down upon as being less than human, are able to be preserved in history and have curious people, like ourselves, continue to investigate their identities.

Across the spectrum of all of these blog posts, there are a number of themes and ideas that have not only been presented but likewise researched and discussed. Despite the fact that many people, including myself, chose to begin with the portrait of The Duchess of Portsmouth, even that particular portrait was branched off upon and discussed in a number of meaningful ways. From the relationship presented to the presence of the red coral linking to a study of gender, every aspect of this painting and others of this nature were discussed. Other people discussed Orientalism and branched off from what we had talked about in class to gain a better understanding of it. Particularly the exoticism and sexualization of the women showcased in these paintings were interesting points of interest to read about for me.

If anything particularly is to be taken away from this blog, it is probably that art showcases the meaningful relationships between African/ Oriental peoples and Europeans. That taken as a whole, even an entire genre of art that you may have disregarded before, such as portraits of Europeans with black slaves, tells a story that is important within history. My classmates investigated such important themes as gender, the economics of the slave trade, portraiture, etc. all linking to the idea of borders. As well as not only a wide variety of themes, but also mediums as well. It would be interesting to see how similar concepts of borders are portrayed today, and how, if at all, these current portrayals can be linked to those in the past.