Noir. Entre peinture et histoire: Revisiting Black Figures in European Painting

Published in October 2018 by Omniscience, 'Noir. Entre peinture et histoire' by Naïl Ver-Ndoye and Grégoire Fauconnier examines the representation of Black individuals in European painting from the 14th to the 20th century. The book features 300 dated works (50 main, 250 in echo), revealing thousands of Black figures often anonymized or whitewashed over time. The authors began their research in 2014, scouring national archives across Europe after noticing the scarcity and erasure of Black subjects in art history. They found that Black figures were frequently depicted as servants or exotic symbols, while political figures like Alexandre de Médicis, Duke of Florence, had their features progressively lightened in later copies. The book covers ten chapters, including political figures (Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Baptiste Belley), religious allegories (Balthazar as a Black Magus), and the role of Black women, who are less represented than men. Notable figures include Mary Jane Seacole, a Jamaican-born nurse decorated for her service in the Crimean War, and Ourika, a Senegalese girl raised in French aristocracy who died in a convent at 18. The authors faced rejection from publishers who deemed the title 'Noir' too direct, preferring 'Black.' The book aims to reclaim erased histories and promote republican universalism. The interview was conducted by Sylvie Arnaud and published in artpress in August 2019.