#jean-baptise belley

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Jean-Baptiste Belley

c. 1797

Artist: Attributed to Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson French, 1767-1824

Sold into slavery as a boy, Jean-Baptiste Belley (1746–1805) bought his freedom in 1764. Belley fought in the American War of Independence and served as a captain in the French army during the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) fighting to abolish slavery on the island of Saint-Domingue (now Hispaniola). In 1793 he was elected to the National Convention in Paris, becoming its first black deputy.

I saw on Bluesky a picture of the painting and something very close to the bio, I've quited, for Jen-Batiste Belley. I'd never heard of Jean-Baptiste Belley. Nor had I heard of Abbé Raynal, the person whose bust rests on the plinth Belley is leaning on. And I'd never heard of the artist Anne Louis Girodet-Trioson. Somewhere along the line I had heard of The Age of Englightenment, which is a good thing because at least I has some hook to hanng these men of the Enlightenment. Art history turns out to be a good way to better understand their significant contributions.

The Art institute of Chicago's Web stite is so expertly clickable. There is also a wonderful essay by Amélie Pascutto at Daily Art. Masterpiece Story: Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley by Girodet