Week 7 Appy and Reflect

In many medieval art pieces, the prominent actors in the piece, were white. However it quickly became a tradition to portray Balthazar, one of the Magi who brought gifts to Christ, as a black man. The reason Balthazar is black, is because Christianity sought to portray itself as a world wide belief (Taking A Magnifying Glass To The Brown Faces In Medieval Art.) Though this just one example of a black person in Medieval art, it is one of many that has had the black person, cropped from the painting when it is reproduced in textbooks. Since history is easier to explain for white people when black people are excluded. Unless its something where many white people died, the African community is largely ignored through history. Bell Hooks book discusses how history has been altered for the white male perspective. While media and television have an impact upon African Americans, the inability to even see themselves in school. The whole ordeal seems excessive and unnecessary, its not as though black people didn't exist until the white man found them. The project People of Color in European Art History has expanded the library of black people within European art. This kind of work is not only important for history books, but museums as well, as it provides an extensive catalog of pieces to feature within an exhibit that showcases how people of color have been featured in art. Some museums do feature these pieces, such as the Toldelo Museum, where The Adoration of the Magi is featured, though these places are few and far in between. Museums typically featured traditional African art and do not expand into other territories. What is interesting about this piece in particular is the other wise man is also a person of color. I could not find any information on which wise man this is, though if I had to guess I would say it is Gaspar from India.
 

Patton, P. (n.d.). Taking A Magnifying Glass To The Brown Faces In Medieval Art. NPR.Org. Retrieved          October 11, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250184740/taking-                a-magnifying-glass-to-the-brown-faces-in-medieval-art.
Murillo, Bartolomé . The Adoration of the Magi. 1655. Toldelo Museum of Art, Toldelo Ohio.                         http://emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/55299/the-adoration-of-the-magi

Patton, P. (n.d.). Taking A Magnifying Glass To The Brown Faces In Medieval Art. NPR.Org. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250184740/taking-a-magnifying-glass-to-the-brown-faces-in-medieval-art.

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Patton, P. (n.d.). Taking A Magnifying Glass To The Brown Faces In Medieval Art. NPR.Org. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250184740/taking-a-magnifying-glass-to-the-brown-faces-in-medieval-art.

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Comments

  1. Miguel RodriguezOctober 11, 2020 at 2:37 PM

    You convey an important point that even religious works have excluded black people in the past. While it may be unintentional in some cases, the writers of history opt to prevent these people from having any spotlight on them, if even a minor one. You raise an interesting discussion, but I would suggest correcting some of the grammar and sentence structures in your post to make your thoughts a little more concise.

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