Beyond the Madonna, an early image of enslaved people in Renaissance Florence

Filippino Lippi, Madonna and Child, c. 1483-84, tempera, oil, and gold on wood, 81.3 x 59.7 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), an Expanding Renaissance Initiative video, find more at Smarthistory.org
Speakers: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Beth Harris

[@johnnzboy]

Were there no non-enslaved sub-Saharan Africans in Italy/Europe at the time this painting was made? Can art historians be confident that any sub-Saharan Africans depicted in minor roles/in the backgrounds of such paintings always represent enslaved people?

[@konskift]

Yes, but they were more likely enslaved East Africans, transported through the Arab slave trade along the Red sea and via the mamluks...

[@victoriap1561]

@@konskift i was thinking the same, italy had more contact with eastern slave traders than with the ones from the west.

[@konskift]

@@victoriap1561 Yes. Genoese and Venetians would have been trading extensively along the entire levant at this time. The Portugese were just starting up their slave trade venture in West Africa in 1480. The portugese were simply cutting out the Arab middlemen.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

You might be interested in the Smarthistory video on Kilwa Kisiwani: ua-cam.com/video/V-Ki1rLcD9Y/v-deo.html

[@nataliapanfichi9933]

​​@@smarthistory-art-historyslaves could be kept in the house if they had a child with a rich man and the child was raised by the family of the baby's father. Like the redhead slave girl Maddalena in the series Medici who is the lover of Cosimo and had a child with him and she's also a love interest for Cosimo's mansirvant Marco Bello.

[@victoriap1561]

Couldn't they buy slaves from the ottomans? Or North Africans too? They were slave traders and Italy had a lot of contact with them.
Also was having a slave a sign of wealth in Europe ? I don't really know the economics but buying slaves was quite costly and i can't imagine economically is much more convenient than just hiring a poor peasant.

[@Sasha0927]

I guess better late than never...
I'm gonna focus on how precious dat fat bb is instead. I could just eat him! lol. 😍🥰
I'm surprised the symbolism of the pomegranate wasn't discussed, but there's a lot to love in this video: deep, rich colors, a unique approach to the halos, a rare appearance of African people, etc. Definitely a favorite.

[@marthavillegas6250]

Thanks for the video. 💙

[@rosavella7548]

Very informative. A brilliant painting I had not come across before. Thank you.

[@lewhensilvar3521]

What was the purpose of having slaves in 15th century Florence? And why would the Ottomans conquering Constantinople disrupt the slave trade?

[@victoriap1561]

It disrupted the silk road, the salve trade in Europe didn't really exist.

[@andrewcummins2627]

Second :(