Black Models

They were called Aspasie, Laure, Madeleine and Joseph. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris wanted to put names on these 19 th -century painters’ models’ faces and restore their identities. After much research, their first names were found. For some – Aïcha Goblet, Maria Martinez and Carmen Lahens – their surnames were ascertained as well. This project restores their individuality and reveals the role they played in the birth of modernity. Black Studies have been around a long time in the United States but are new in France, where the role that models of African ancestry played in the emergence of modernity has never been explored before. American researcher Denise Murrell, who originated the project, says that is “due to a different history. The United States has always had millions of Americans of African origin on its soil across the country. There were people of African ancestry living in France at the turn of the 20 th century, but they only a small percentage of the population, except for the inhabitants of the Caribbean…