Diego Bemba, a Servant of Dom Miguel de Castro 1641 - 1645

Editor: Here we have "Diego Bemba, a Servant of Dom Miguel de Castro," an oil on wood portrait made sometime between 1641 and 1645. He's holding this ornate little box, and he's dressed so formally...what strikes me is how meticulously rendered his clothing is versus the relative flatness of the background. What draws your eye to this painting? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the relationship between the sitter and the materials used to represent him. Look at the oil paint itself; the sheen and texture used to depict Diego Bemba's garments signify status, but it also highlights the economic systems that enabled this portrait’s creation. Consider the wood panel - where was that wood sourced, how was it prepared? What does this materiality tell us about artistic patronage at that moment? Editor: So, it's not just about who is in the painting, but about all the hands involved in making the painting? Curator: Precisely! We need to ask: who had access to these materials, and whose labor went into creating this image? Even the pigment itself holds clues. The use of particular colours, their origin and trade routes can unravel connections between art, global commerce, and colonial power structures. How were people of African descent represented, and what was the nature of the raw materials that made that representation possible? Editor: That really reframes how I look at portraits from this period. I guess I always thought of the artist as the primary creative force, but there’s a whole network of production surrounding any artwork. Curator: Exactly! Understanding art means understanding the means of its production. We need to be asking: What were the societal mechanisms involved? What labor was at play? Whose stories get told, and whose remain unseen in the material record? Editor: That gives me so much to think about; I hadn't considered the materials themselves as holding a story before. Thank you.