Representation of slavery in European art

From the Renaissance onwards, a substantial number of bound figures, often naked and crouching, illustrate enslavement.

[3] This imagery had for one of its roots the ancient tradition of Roman Triumph, but its contemporaneous relevance was greatly magnified by the prevalence of slavery within European countries.

Post painted pictures of slaves working in idyllic rural landscapes which do little to reflect the harsh realities of their life.

Numerous portraits of high-class Europeans show them in the company of black figures, often children, whose status may be advertised by the silver slave collar being worn.

In fact, in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the fashion among some wealthy Europeans to have their black household slaves or servants wear silver collars; these were often inscribed with the name of the owner or employer.

[citation needed] Slaves were chattel and so it is no surprise to see that they were on occasion branded like cattle in life and in art.

Another sign of slavery, less obvious and much less gruesome, was the cropped pony tail or topknot which marked an enslaved Turk in the galleys.

Black boy with slave collar, Dutch 17th-century painting.
This and three other statues of chained slaves, placed at the base of the Monument of the Four Moors at Livorno , Italy , might have been made with actual slaves as models, whose names and circumstances remain unknown
Thomas Alexandre Dumas
Anti-Slavery Medallion by Josiah Wedgwood