The “slave market” is a painting by Jean-Leon Gerome and depicts the slave trade in the Middle East and North Africa in the 19th century. The art exhibits the theme of slavery in the early years, where the slave market as a platform, was used to depict women in the African Muslim societies. The males were largely included in sexual relations (Birmingham Museum of Art 1). There is also the depiction of the role of men and their disrespect towards women. Just like song and dance, paintings are a great way of depicting the slave trade practices that occurred throughout the globe (Thompson 8). The slave market painting is a representation of slavery and oppression through a realistic depiction of the perpetrators of slavery and women who represents the slave sin in the North African region.
Jean-Leon Gerome is a French painter who is known for his academicism. Through his artwork, he can expound on the historical occurrences, where he brought the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. The art piece is significant in that it teaches on the history of slavery, and how the trade affected people, mostly the Africans in North Africa (Adegboyega and Idowu 10). The other major significance of the art is that it helps a viewer to condemn slavery and the inhumane treatment of individuals in this era.
The art piece is a realist artwork, where the real illustrations of slavery can greatly be sent by a viewer. There are real depictions of images of the slaves on the oil on canvas painting. The artwork represents slavery and slave markets, which were still operating in the late 19th century in Egypt (Hill and Hatch 2). The Gerome art piece is a representation of slavery in North Africa, which was rampant in the 18th and 19th centuries.
