What s the best art show in Paris? That s easy. Black Models: From Géricault to Matisse, which is both a chronological survey of black figures in French painting from the revolution to the mid-twentieth century, and a radical modernization of how we view the models. Why? The museum literally changed the titles of the paintings to respectfully acknowledge the black subjects that feature them. So, (first pic) Marie-Guillemine Benoist s 1800 painting is now Portrait of Madeline, which was formerly Portrait of a Black Woman. (It had another title before that, but I ain t gonna say that word.) And (second pic) a painting from 1827 by Eugène Delacroix is listed as Portrait of a Woman with Blue Turban, updating its original title, which used more archaic vocabulary. Why is this such a big deal? As the art historian Anne Higonnet pointed out in the catalogue, what if Mona Lisa was titled Portrait of a white woman ? That struck me. The show s original concept came from Denise Durrell s 2013 doctorate thesis at Columbia University, which was inspired by paintings that had heavily researched white models but neglected black figures, most notably (third pic) Édouard Manet s Olympia (1863). This painting, which is part of the museum s permanent collection, is the centerpiece of this exhibit. However, next to it is the part I found most moving in the whole show: Manet s diary from the 1860 s, which finally reveals the black model s real name: Laure. None of these pictures are new and many of them I ve seen before but this show positioned them in a new light, and for that I am grateful. At a time when race relations seem on the verge of regression (both in France and the US), renaming these portraits left me with a feeling of dignity and gratitude. It s up till July 21st!
