Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter
Recently renamed, the Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit, in the RAMM (Exeter) collection, is a rare example from the 18th century of an autonomous portrait of a Black sitter. This essay charts a 5-year history of debates between 2018-2023, before, during and after an exhibition: In Plain Sight: Transa...
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| Publicat a: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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Interfaces
2024
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| Accés en línia: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_9048 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_9048 https://doi.org/10.4000/122ds urn:doi:10.4000/122ds en https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/9048 2024-07-20T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/122ds https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter Interfaces Université Bourgogne Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2647-6754 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1164-6225 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces Percival, Melissa musée exposition portrait/portraiture décolonialisme/décolonisation esclavage identité évidence museum exhibition portrait/portraiture decolonizing/decolonization slavery identity evidence Recently renamed, the Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit, in the RAMM (Exeter) collection, is a rare example from the 18th century of an autonomous portrait of a Black sitter. This essay charts a 5-year history of debates between 2018-2023, before, during and after an exhibition: In Plain Sight: Transatlantic Slavery and Devon (2022) where the portrait played a central role. RAMM, which connected with other institutions through a series of loans of the portrait, is one of many European and American museums and galleries who are engaging with the legacy of transatlantic slavery. The case of the RAMM portrait allows reflection on decolonizing practices and methodologies, and on the challenges and opportunities for scholars and curators to reframe old paradigms: rethinking evidence, the function of identities in portraiture and the way exhibitions are conceived and staged. The lack of a known sitter enhances the portrait’s symbolic function to link with the past, to mediate for the voiceless and shape ongoing present debates, but also runs the risk of tokenism. Récemment rebaptisé, le Portrait d'un homme en habit rouge, issu de la collection du RAMM (Exeter), est un rare exemple du XVIIIe siècle d'un portrait autonome d'un modèle noir. Cet article retrace l'histoire de cinq années de débats qui ont eu lieu entre 2018-2023, autour de l’exposition : In Plain Sight : Transatlantic Slavery and Devon (2022) où le portrait a joué un rôle central. Le RAMM, qui a établi des liens avec d'autres institutions par le biais d'une série de prêts du portrait, figure parmi de nombreux musées et galeries en Europe et en Amérique qui se confrontent à l'héritage de l'esclavage transatlantique. Le cas du portrait de RAMM permet d'examiner les méthodologies et pratiques décoloniales, et d’identifier les défis et les opportunités pour les chercheurs et les conservateurs de musée. Trois aspects exigent des approches nouvelles: la réflexion autour de la notion de preuve, la fonction des identités dans le portrait et la manière dont les expositions sont conçues et mises en scène. L'absence d'un modèle connu renforce la fonction symbolique du portrait, qui permet d'établir un lien avec le passé, de servir de médiateur pour les sans-voix et de façonner les débats actuels, mais elle fait également courir le risque d’un geste de pure forme. |
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OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
musée exposition portrait/portraiture décolonialisme/décolonisation esclavage identité évidence museum exhibition portrait/portraiture decolonizing/decolonization slavery identity evidence |
| spellingShingle |
musée exposition portrait/portraiture décolonialisme/décolonisation esclavage identité évidence museum exhibition portrait/portraiture decolonizing/decolonization slavery identity evidence Percival, Melissa Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| description |
Recently renamed, the Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit, in the RAMM (Exeter) collection, is a rare example from the 18th century of an autonomous portrait of a Black sitter. This essay charts a 5-year history of debates between 2018-2023, before, during and after an exhibition: In Plain Sight: Transatlantic Slavery and Devon (2022) where the portrait played a central role. RAMM, which connected with other institutions through a series of loans of the portrait, is one of many European and American museums and galleries who are engaging with the legacy of transatlantic slavery. The case of the RAMM portrait allows reflection on decolonizing practices and methodologies, and on the challenges and opportunities for scholars and curators to reframe old paradigms: rethinking evidence, the function of identities in portraiture and the way exhibitions are conceived and staged. The lack of a known sitter enhances the portrait’s symbolic function to link with the past, to mediate for the voiceless and shape ongoing present debates, but also runs the risk of tokenism. |
| author |
Percival, Melissa |
| author_facet |
Percival, Melissa |
| author_sort |
Percival, Melissa |
| title |
Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| title_short |
Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| title_full |
Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| title_fullStr |
Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Decolonial Practices around “Portrait of a Man in a Red Suit” (formerly “Portrait of an African”), in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter |
| title_sort |
decolonial practices around “portrait of a man in a red suit” (formerly “portrait of an african”), in the royal albert memorial museum (ramm), exeter |
| publisher |
Interfaces |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/122ds https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/9048 |
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