Detail of Allan Ramsay’s Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1761-1762) |
Although she is chronologically distant from Afonso III and his mistress, there is a surprising genealogical proximity between the two women and six lines of descent can be traced between them. What also contributed to the perceptibility of her African heritage was the highly inbred pattern of princely German marriage alliances.There are contemporary references to Charlotte’s African-like features, too; for example, Christian Friedrich, Baron Stockmar wrote she possessed a “true mulatto face.” These characteristics are clearly noticeable in portraits by Allan Ramsay, a prominent abolitionist, and, by marriage, the uncle of Dido Elizabeth Belle.
Read more »
0 Comments:
Yorum Gönder