“It’s a miracle that this painting survives.”

November 19, 2024 8:13 AM

A Man of Parts and Learning by Fara Dabhoiwala [archive link] is the text of a lecture about the portrait of 18th Century Jamaican polymath Francis Williams, the first Black man to be proposed for election to the Royal Society, which became the subject of popular interest last month when it was revealed that the painting celebrated Williams’ great scientific triumph. In his lecture, Dabhoiwala recounts the process by which the discovery was made, as well as explaining the context. You can watch it here.
posted by Kattullus (7 comments total)

Thank you for posting this! I didn't have the energy to make an entire FPP.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:23 AM on November 19 [2 favorites]

The video is incredible. It is absolutely fascinating, from end to end.
posted by mhoye at 9:46 AM on November 19 [2 favorites]

My gosh, this was a great detective story. Two areas I work with a lot as a rare book curator are Samuel Johnson and cometary science, so this couldn’t be any more relevant to my interests.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:16 PM on November 19 [3 favorites]

The clues being uncovered here are so amazing, it was like a real life version of a spy thriller (art & science history edition). Great post!
posted by Ausamor at 2:04 PM on November 19 [1 favorite]

Reading this reminds me there is not a single image from life of Toussaint Louverture, despite him being an accomplished Frenchman and leading Haiti's revolution for independence and then the country thereafter. All the images are from after his death.
posted by Nelson at 3:19 PM on November 20 [2 favorites]

Mod note: [Thank you for this great story, Kattullus! We've added it to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 12:19 AM on November 23 [2 favorites]

I was away and missed this post--only saw it because I was making my own FPP. Great stuff!
posted by praemunire at 8:57 PM on December 2 [1 favorite]