Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"

Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"

Amand Jacob

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roughly one month following the end of the American Civil War, "Le Journal Illustré," a French weekly newspaper, published this wood engraving that illustrated the stakes of the Union victory. Although Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it was not until 1865 that the congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment and the abolition of slavery was assured nationwide. While the image conveys a jubilant celebration of newfound freedom, the commentary that accompanied it was more pessimistic. The text asks what these men and women will do next for work and describes victims of starvation left in the path of triumphant processions such as this.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"Emancipated Blacks in the United States, from "Le Journal Illustré"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.