#MuseumsUnlocked #Portraiture Most images of Africans in European art pre #C19 fall into one of two categories: servants, or so called “Blackamoors,” and legendary/ religious figures, like St. Maurice. Very little thought has been given to these images as portraits. It would admittedly be hard to link such images to individual sitters. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Scholars, for example, have identified historical actors who served as models for popular figures in #C18 #porcelain, such as Falstaff, as portrayed by James Quinn.

#MuseumsUnlocked #WestAfrica This monument at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg commemorates Anton-Wilhelm Amo (1703-1759), the first person of African descent to teach at a Germany University. Amo was born near the town of Axim in present day Ghana, and at the age of 4 was taken—either by a slave trader or a missionary (here the historical record is unclear)—to Amsterdam, where was given as a present to Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.