In this 1661 double portrait titled Two Moors, Dutch artist Rembrandt affords dignity to two black men by the fact that they are the sole subject of the work. At this time, the only depictions of black people were as servants – both occupationally and artistically, as they were usually bit-part players to a ‘larger’ or ‘more significant action.
Here, the painter revels in the presentation of different fabrics and subtle variations in tone in the painting of the skin – all in a limited color palette.
Rembrandt’s Two Moors is in the Maurithuis in The Hague, Netherlands.