Magic lantern slide, “Octoroon” Statue in Hot House.
“This sculpture, titled The Octoroon, was made by British artist John Bell. The young woman is depicted standing in a classic pose, not unlike many representations of Venus, but she is in chains. Bell was at the height of his popularity when the piece was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1868. Critics and patrons responded positively to the way much of his work combined classic forms and the pathos of contemporary romanticism. There’s no proof that Bell was responding specifically to Boucicault’s play, but since The Octoroon premiered in London in 1861, it seems likely that he was inspired by the work. The London Art Journal reported that he was working on the piece in 1863, though its debut wasn’t for a few years after. This article on The Root notes: Through artfully constructed layers of sentimentality and aesthetic contrivance emerges one of the primary justifications for the enslavement of a whole group of human beings: the notion of one drop of black blood, the “drop sinister,” by which a light-skinned person could be consigned to a life of bondage.” –John Bell’s The Octoroon
NOVEMBER 11, 2015 / C1DRAMATURGS