Representing the Black Female Subject in Western Art (Routledge Studies on African and Black Diaspora)

This book offers the first concentrated examination of the representation of the black female subject in Western art through the lenses of race/color and sex/gender. Charmaine A. Nelson poses critical questions about the contexts of production, the problems of representation, the pathways of circulation and the consequences of consumption. She analyzes not only how, where, why and by whom black female subjects have been represented, but also what the social and cultural impacts of the colonial legacy of racialized western representation have been. Nelson also explores and problematizes the issue of the historically privileged white artistic access to black female bodies and the limits of representation for these subjects. This book not only reshapes our understanding of the black female representation in Western Art, but also furthers our knowledge about race and how and why it is (re)defined and (re)mobilized at specific times and places throughout history. Nelson Analyzes Not Only How, Where, Why And By Whom Black Female Subjects Have Been Represented In Western Art, But Also What The Social And Cultural Impacts Of The Colonial Legacy Of Racialized Western Representation Have Been. She Poses Questions About The Concepts Of Production, The Consequences Of Comsumption And More. Through An-other's Eyes : White Canadian Artists--black Female Subjects -- Racing Childhood : Representations Of Black Girls In Canadian Art -- Slavery, Portraiture, And The Colonial Limits Of Canadian Art History -- The Fruits Of Resistance : Reading Portrait Of A Negro Slave On The Sly -- Tying The Knot : Black Female Slave Dress In Canada -- Coloured Nude : Fetishization, Disguise, Dichotomy -- The Hottentot Venus In Canada : Modernism, Censorship, And The Racial Limits Of Female Sexuality -- White Marble, Black Bodies, And The Fear Of The Invisible Negro : -- Signifying Blackness In Mid-nineteenth-century Neoclassical Sculpture -- Vénus Africaine : Race, Beauty, And African-ness -- Allegory, Race, And The Four Continents : Jean-baptiste Carpeaux's Les Quatre Parties Du Monde Soutenant La Sphere Céleste -- Conclusion : Whiteness As Collective Narcissism, Towards A New Vision. Charmaine A. Nelson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Through an-other's eyes : white Canadian artists - Black female subjects Racing childhood : representations of black girls in Canadian art Slavery, portraiture, and the colonial limits of Canadian art history The fruits of resistance : reading portrait of a Negro slave on the sly Tying the knot : Black female slave dress in Canada Coloured nude : fetishization, disguise, dichotomy The "hottentot venus" in Canada : modernism, censorship, and the racial limits of female sexuality White marble, Black bodies, and the fear of the invisible Negro : Signifying blackness in mid-nineteenth-century neoclassical sculpture Vénus Africaine : race, beauty, and African-ness Allegory, race, and the four continents : Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's les quatre parties du monde soutenant la sphere céleste Conclusion : whiteness as collective narcissism, towards a new vision. Charmaine A. Nelson analyzes not only how, where, why and by whom black female subjects have been represented in Western art, but also what the social and cultural impacts of the colonial legacy of racialized western representation have been. She poses critical questions about the contexts of production, the problems of representation, the pathways of circulation and the consequences of consumption