Jacques Gustave Hamelin, originally from Normandy, is best known for his landscapes and rural scenes inspired by the natural beauty of his homeland. Throughout his long career, he exhibited at several prestigious French salons, including the Salon des Artistes Français.
In contrast to his landscape work, our two canvases present different views of a plaster showcasing the head of a Black man. During the 19th century, many European artists, including Hamelin, depicted Black subjects. Prominent figures like Jean-Léon Gérôme, Édouard Manet, Théodore Géricault, Eugène Delacroix, and Charles Cordier explored similar themes, often portraying Black individuals as symbols of the “exotic” or “foreign” with a complex mix of curiosity and racial stereotyping. These representations were, however, often countered by nuanced portrayals that challenged these conventions.
This is the case of the sculptor Cordier who, in 1848, designed a bronze bust of a Sudanese man, Seïd Enkess, who had visited his studio. This remarkable bust, designed and founded in only 15 days, was exhibited at the Paris Salon under the title Saïd Abdallah de la Tribu de Mayac, Royaume de Dafour (fig. 1). A homage to the beauty of this emancipated slave who became a professional model, the work echoes the abolition of slavery that same year.
