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Spending his time leaping around, on stilts or making love to a courtesan, the black masked jester (played by a white actor) embodied the trademarks definitively associated with black men. In fact later on in France in the 19th century, a double clown act known as Footit et Chocolat, would see a real black clown from Martinique, taking on a similar comedic role. These are examples of how complex and unusual the image of the black can be. Black people have been slaves, servants, Peg-legged fiddle players, boxers, models They have been portrayed as every element of the underclass, and in many respects have become symbolic of it. The aim
of this website is to present a new visual history of the African Diaspora,
which will stimulate discussions about the representation of black people
in art. In doing so, whether we see a black page in an 18th century
conversation piece or not, our evolving knowledge of the black historical
presence will allow us to confidently state that even though we can't
see him, he is probably just around the corner!
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