Learn about Joseph, a Celebrated Haitian Model in 19th-Century Paris
A new Google Arts & Culture exhibit explores the life one of the most famous Black models of the era
Study of the Model Joseph, Théodore Géricault, about 1818–1819. Oil on canvas, 18 1/2 × 15 1/4 in. Getty Museum, 85.PA.407
Body Content
From Delacroix to Manet, some of the best known artists of the 19th century featured Black subjects in their paintings, based on Black models.
In 1800s Paris, modeling was an often-unwelcoming profession to people of color, and few could earn a living this way. However, one model named Joseph was sought after by some of the most renowned painters in Paris. He became a registered model at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts and paved the way for future Black models.
Getty’s new online exhibition, Study of the Model Joseph, Nineteenth-Century Paris, and Romanticism, dives into the life of Joseph: artist’s model, Haitian immigrant to Paris, and most famously, muse to painter and abolitionist Théodore Géricault. Google Arts & Culture partnered with Getty to feature the digital exhibit on its Black History and Cultures hub.
Joseph was best-known for posing as the model for the waving figure at the front of the raft in Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The online presentation highlights details from Géricault’s Study of the Model Joseph, which was one of the studies Géricault painted in preparation for The Raft of the Medusa and is currently on view at the Getty Museum.
The Raft of the Medusa, 1818–19, Théodore Géricault. Oil on canvas. Louvre Museum, © 2015 RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre Museum) / Michel Urtado
Despite Joseph’s celebrity status in Paris during his lifetime, there are few written records about his life. Some sources, mostly in French, were compiled in the Musèe D’Orsay’s 2019 catalogue of the exhibition Le Modèle noir de Géricault à Matisse (The Black Model from Géricault to Matisse). Getty’s Google Arts & Culture exhibit brings together sources on Joseph’s life, alongside a broader look at the lives of free Black immigrants, artists, and intellectuals in 19th-century Paris.
Explore Study of the Model Joseph, Nineteenth-Century Paris, and Romanticism on Google Arts & Culture.
