Date of Award
5-1-1997
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A. in Art
Department
Art and Art History
First Advisor
Dr. Betty J. Crouther
Second Advisor
Dr. James F. Payne
Third Advisor
John L. Winters
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis is a visual and written portrait of some of the important African-led slave rebellions in the New World. Seven lithographs explore the environment of slavery and Africanisms in the New World. Six canvases reconstruct slave resistance from the 1730s to 1831: the Nat Turner Rebellion; the Maroon Wars of Jamaica; and the Haitian maroon revolutionaries--Makandal and Boukman. The common denominator among these rebellions was the presence of traditional West African religious beliefs. This is examined in the text and in the representation of material culture on canvas and in print. The paintings are in the manner of historical narrative—a genre used to immortalize important leaders and events in Western history. This thesis addresses the gap left by contemporary nineteenth century painters and makes central figures of the very same African slaves that eighteenth and nineteenth century painters either ignored or obscured.
The essay covers art history, social history and religion as related to slave rebellions. PART I, on art history, examines history paintings, prints and the dearth of competent and informed images of Africans and slave resistance. Prints and paintings are surveyed from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. This author concludes that the conservatism of this era on racial matters restricted the representation of African Americans as heroes or even individuals capable of self-determination.
In PART II, the essay examines some necessary historical and cultural background to the subject. The transatlantic Slave trade, ethnic origins and Vodun are areas examined to shed light of the rebel leaders in the painting. This part explores how African beliefs played a determinant role in the most aggressive slave rebellions in the New World. The seven lithographs accompany this text as illustrations.
In PART III, the six thesis paintings are presented and analyzed. These paintings serve as documents of African-led Slave rebellions and acknowledge their importance in the manner of historical genre. Historical narrative was used to immortalize important events and leaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is so used in these six canvases. These paintings represent the leaders, usually in the foreground, set against the backdrop of slave rebellion. The content accents the material culture of African Vodun and emphasizes the role of African beliefs in these particular rebellions.
Recommended Citation
Weinzettle, Joseph R., "African-led slave rebellions in the United States, Jamaica and Haiti" (1997). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3492.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3492