This is a Brazilian painting called The Redemption Of Cain, there are four people in the composition, there is a family with a baby sitting down and there is an older black lady standing over them her hands raised to the heavens in a prayerful stance.
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As a piece of art it is visually pleasing and well painted, the visuals of the painting are quite serene, it induces a smile on the face of the observer as it tells a story of the pleasant placid serenity of a happy family.
However, underneath that placid serenity beautifully depicted by the artist lays an unpleasant, soul destroying, deeply depressing tale.
Black people in Brazil and most of south America were severely restricted in their life opportunities, they are largely restricted to three main opportunities; sports, art (singing dancing performing) or domestics (house help), this had been the case for centuries and generations and the result of this has created psychological impact on a certain type of black south American mindset which has in turn led that mindset to identify the colour of their skin as the main burden of their life.
The black lady in this painting is of that mindset.
Having identified their blackness as their greatest burden, this mindset sets out to breed the black out of their bloodline so that future generations would not have to "suffer" this burden.
The old black lady to the left of the painting is the mother of the young lady at the centre of painting, the man to the right is the husband of the young lady and the child is their child.
When she was younger, the black lady set about the task of breeding the black out of her bloodline, to that end, she married / had a child with a white guy, that child is the mixed race young lady in the painting, when she grew up, the mixed race lady marries a Portuguese settler, they had a child together, the child in the painting. The child in the painting is either quarter-caste or full white; it is difficult to tell from the painting, either way, job done.
As she looks to the heavens in exaltation, the elderly black lady is thankful that her prayers have been answered.
She has succeeded in breeding the black out of her bloodline within 3 generations
and that is why i find this painting so depressing.
just fantastic
thanks for the comment and the upvote! :)
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Vow such a racist painting. On a lighter note, the mother of the child resembles Obama a lot, doesn't she?
ll ... i suppose .... thanks for your upvote! :)
Lol, so true
Wow this is a very interesting background story to this painting. It’s amazing how it can be looked at and opinions form but by knowing the story behind it completely changes the thought patterns.
I love your reasoning for finding this depressing. Your take on it really makes the painting come to life even though it doesn’t muster feelings of joy. Thank you so much for this post. Now every time I look at a painting or work of art I will take a deeper look at the context and story behind it.
thanks for your comment, it mirrors almost exactly the same explanation that i was giving someone else - thanks for the upvote and feel free to resteem if you like! lol :)
wow i never knew all this
The irony is that Grandma's genes have not gone anywhere and most of them may be expressed in her great-grandchild. I just see the idiocy in the concept of race. Human genetics is far from simple, check out the following article:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306312715610217
true words my friend, but you have to set it within the context of the time, at that time they simply saw no way out
Really depressing
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Thanks for the explication, the painting is super pretty :)
it is pretty but depressing equally
I think this painting might even have a deeper, more esoteric meaning that goes deeper just the race dynamic. I may be stretching but. Recall the typical imagery of Baphomet and notice that there is similar body language as well as the theme of black/white good/evil.
It should also be noticed that masons, as well as other occult members have been known to trace their lineage back to the biblical "Cain" and are referred to as sons of Cain.
hmm .... now thats a new dimension
the name "The Redemption of Cain" is a blatant reference, the body language more subtle. Cain slayed his brother Abel and the story goes that all humans on the planet are descendants of either abraham or cain, I have no doubt in my mind about the titling but as you dig deeper The duality of black and white is given a double meaning as they seem to represent good and evil, male female - very basic occult dualist concepts. By blending race, sex, good/evil the lines get blurred and a supposed unity comes from an intermingling of polarities. This also is repeated with the concept of the hegalian dialect with the thesis and antithesis forming a synthesis.
Thanks for explaining what it is all about in your own view.
@seyiodus.
its not "in my own view" that is actually the story / history of the painting
chills from that story. Thank you for sharing!!
sad right? :(
I have never really seen this painting before, i just hope from now henceforth, I don't get depressed when i see it again .
lol, sorry but sometimes these stories have to be told! :)
Wow I don't know what to say, that is very sad, were should all love who we are and cherish it no matter what race we are, I am Mexican and I wouldn't want it any other way
well said ... thanks for the upvote! :)
I did like it XD
It actually depressing sewing this (as I'm black) but since that was years back I understand why she had to do that but things have improved,I'm that's a little happiness there.
thanks for the upvote! :)
i love the painting dough
it is a beautiful piece
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But i also thanks we can make the difference in this generation.
thank u for the upvote
Amazing 😉
Good luck my friend @cryptogrind👍
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I love learning the stories behind paintings - the sinister story behind this one combined with the beauty on the surface, gives me chills. Thanks a lot for the post though - opened my eyes. I had no idea about this
thanks for the comment pal, and feel free to resteem if you like! lol :)
___🚣♂️
thanks for the comment and the upvote! :)
There is always a mystery behind the beauty of every painting. Kudos to every painter who continues to explore the beauty of art.
NICE PAINTING, with so many emotions...
And somewhere bitter truth too...
thanks for the comment and the upvote! :)
nice work you gat i love the painting so beautiful
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This painting is symbolic of what has been happening for a time now, breeding out the melanin as if it was a curse when in fact it is the opposite.
Being Who you Are is a blessing, hating who you are is the Curse!
true, but we have to put it within the context of the time, at that time those people saw no way out
Some people, not all ! You said it yourself that the image is depressing , so let’s call a spade a spade.. the thoughts we think + the decisions we make shape our reality .. this one just ain’t right 🐍
i agree, but look at it this way, the lady was probably a domestic and she is seeing how people are being treated because of the colour of their skin, even the lighter skinned blacks were being treated better than the darker ones, it was probably her resolve that her future generations will not suffer the treatment that she got and this was the way out that she saw, is it right? no, can you though understand why she would have done this ...well, its easy to empathise
I can definitely empathize, sympathize not so much ! Mostly because I see this exact same pattern within my own family. I do Appreciate this post ! ⭐️
dont forget to resteem it then, share it with your audience! ;)
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