Man sitting on a rock, Before 1849

Joseph Fussell (1785 - 1849)

RA Collection: Art

This watercolour drawing shows a Black man sitting on a rock or mound. His clothes are torn and dirty and it is possible that the image represents an enslaved man. However, the subject of the work is uncertain as the man may have been a model for Fussell or, indeed, the figure may have been imagined by the artist. A related work by Fussell, A man in chains (02/477), shows a man in a similar pose sitting on a rock, but a notable difference between the two watercolours are the chains shackling his arms. These drawings were likely made around the same time and when seen together suggest that these men depicted are enslaved.