Blog archive
April 2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
By Richard MyersPosted: 03/03/2024
On the first Friday of March, March 1, Helane Rhinegold presented another in her wonderful series "Conversations with Art." This time her subject was "Black Artists Portrayed by European Artists Through the Decades." This presentation was recorded and is available for viewing on the Pasadena Village YouTube Channel. In her usual approach, Helane displays a particular piece of art to discuss and then converses with the audience about the piece. She encourages the viewers describe what they see in the work and how it affects them, which sometimes produces surprising results. She also provides information about the work itself such as when and in what context it was produced often naming the model and providing historical information about how it was received in its own time. For example:
St. Maurice 1520 Lucas Cranach the Elder
- Paint on wood, represents a Commander of the Roman Legion who was Egyptian. Over time,
representations of St. Maurice have tended to represent him as European.
Metropolitan Museum
Man Wearing a Turban Date unknown Karel van Mander lll (1625-1670)
- Artist was from Delft. Represents a North African man who is shown as confident and proud.
Copenhagen
Portrait of Jan Valkenburgh 1660 Daniel Vertangen
- Valkenbaugh was the Governor of Dutch Gold Coast, Angola today. This area of Africa was very important to the slave trade. Valkenbaugh is shown as a soldier.
Amsterdam
Youth in Embroidered Vest 1785 Marie Lempine
- "Bust portrait" of a young Black male wearing fancy clothing. The artist was a woman who supported
herself with her artwork. The subject was a child named Emok who was a house slave in the home
of Madame DuBarry.
Paris
Othello 1826 William Mulready
- Portrait of a Black actor, Ira Aldrige. He was the first Black Shakespearean actor who was unable to make a career in the United States and moved to England where he enjoyed success as an actor.
Baltimore
The Captive Slave 1827 John Simpson
- The model for this portrait was Ira Aldrige. Xrays of this portrait reveal two under paintings suggesting
the portrait was painted for the artist not a patron.
Chicago
Olympia 1886 Eduord Manet
- Portrait of a courtesan with a Black maid presenting her with flowers. The painting created a
scandal in Paris and was never purchased during the artist's lifetime.
Paris
Bashir Bazouk 1869 Jean Leone Gerome
- Portrait of a mercenary soldier from North Africa wearing or holding items plundered during war.
Metropolitan
Young Woman with Peonies 1870 Fredric Bazille
- Model was the same person as Manet used in Olympia.
Thomas McKeller Date unknown John Singer Sargent (1871-1921)
- Nude male portrait, anatomy study. Model was a hotel doorman who the artist used as a model for 15 years.
Boston
Helane has done a number of presentations for us over the last year and they are available on our YouTube Channel for your convenience. We encourage you to browse our channel to enjoy these other presentations.
We are looking forward to the next few months and the upcoming 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer in August. This was a very important period of time in our history as the events and activities in this period are considered to have had a major impact on changes that took place within our society. We will be announcing our schedule of presentations in future posts.
For our next presentation which will take place on Friday, March 15 at noon, I would like to suggest a discussion about a short film that has been nominated for an Oscar for a short documentary film. The film is available on YouTube and is named "The Barber of Little Rock." It is 34 minutes long so it is not difficult to watch. The film has also been written up in a New Yorker article. This black barber started a barber college on the black side of the freeway in town and has graduated hundreds of barbers into the community. After accomplishing that, he started a CDFI (Commuity Development Financial Institution) using a government program that was created for that purpose and is now making small personal and business loans in his neighborhood. The video illustrates the divide between the white side of the freeway and the black side, and illuminates the difficulties that are faced by the residents directly resulting from institutional factors. The film does a wonderful job raising awareness of the plight of people who work hard to acheive something but are swimming against a constant tide. This film provides a lot of material for discussions about discrimination, institutional structures, and reparations, among other things. We would like to hear what you think after viewing this film.
As always, our discussions are open to guests and anyone needing information about upcoming events is invited to contact at our office at info@pasadenavillage.org or at (626) 765 - 6037.