Legacy of Enslavement Cambridge University report so far

 Advisory Group on Legacies of Enslavement final report | University of Cambridge

Cambridge Legacies of Enslavement

who is the boy? [10]

this boy is fairly familiar, given that he was painted by the very famous Van Dyck  and has been on view at much-visited Kenwood House since the Iveagh collection was opened to the public.

A good deal is known about his companion, Henrietta of Lorraine, ill-fated and really quite  obscure.  Nothing about the boy, who is simply assumed to be an accessory in a proud resplendent portrait that 'evokes wealth and nobility' in despite of Henrietta's insecure and at times backstabbing life.

The inequities of scale are striking, for if Henrietta's hand on the boy's shoulder were actual, he would be about the height of a large dog, whereas his aspect and posture, proffering a dish of pink roses in homage to her European complexion, suggest a teenager.  The effect of course is to increase Henrietta's pictorial and social stature, although as the boy is clearly as fictive as his flowers, this does not signify much; it was standard in European portraiture.

However, there were very many young Black men and women in European courts from the 1400-1600s.  As we would like to know about them, it is a pity that when they were employed as artist's models they were seldom if ever identified.