To celebrate Black History Month, this special feature looks at the different ways in which black people have been represented in National Gallery oil paintings and uncovers more hidden histories.
Warrior
In western European art black men represented in physical action were often painted in ways that made them appear threatening. The stereotype of the ''''exotic warrior'''' who fights half naked and with an unparalleled ferocity is never far away in such images. Such ideas were the result of centuries of conflict, wars of occupation and expulsion, and often defeat of Europeans by African peoples, such as the renowned Moors.
Sometimes the men shown are in fact soldiers, included in representations of armies both ancient and contemporary. However, in this oil painting by Rubens, the black men are elephant handlers, bringing up the rear of an imagined Roman procession of maidens, musicians and sacrificial animals. Whilst the white men in the front calmly lead sheep or struggle determinedly to move a bull, this black figure is shown with a gleam of excited aggression in his eye, hand grasping a sharp tool as if it''''s a weapon. This contrast between different races perpetuates many stereotypes.