It’s Black History Month! Black People in European History #13

It's Black History Month! Every day I will post something that shows the deep and rich history of Black people in Europe, so no one ever again questions why Black actors should be cast in all the films, plays, and shows about European history or based on fictionalized European history like Lord of the Rings and The Witcher.

February 13: Rubens' neighbor. Peter Paul Rubens painted studies of this man at least twice over the course of five years, and the same man likely appears in a painting by Jacob Jordaens, indicating that the subject of this painting lived in Antwerp. Rubens used at least two of these studies in later finished paintings. Who is this guy? Who knows, and that’s what’s so important about this work for this series. He was just another dude in Antwerp, a major European city. Artists did tons of these kinds of studies, using locals as models. Was he enslaved? Probably not, if he had the freedom to go pose for artists whenever he wished. He was likely a workman, artisan, or servant, like most people in Antwerp at the time. Cast Black actors!

The image showing the man from four different angles was painted by Rubens between 1615-1618. The image showing the man once was painted between 1618-1620.