Art of darkness

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Description

The slaves of the Caribbean contributed not only to the wealth of their masters, but also to the cultural heritage of the British Empire. For, as this film shows, such landmark institutions as the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, and the British Museum were all funded by money made from the slave trade. Documented in fascinating detail through letters, paintings and poetry, the eighteenth century is shown to be both an age of high culture and an age of cruelty. The word "patron" had the dual meaning of owner of slaves and supporter of the arts. The film shows how the art of the period romanticized the servitude of the plantation blacks. As Hogarth's prints show, black domestics would be exquisitely attired to reflect the riches of their masters. Again and again we see in works of art that the black servants were depicted as a precious, exotic ornament, even as they were brutalized in real life.