Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape

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Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape by Agostino Brunias is one of the paintings located in the Brooklyn Museum. Agostino has a long history in the world of painting. The events of the colonial era inspired most of his works. British state owners hired him to paint people. In most cases, he was required to paint the people of mixed race. As well, some of his paintings bring insight into life during the colonial period. A good example is the Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape. The painting is a depiction of the influence of the diverse Caribbean, African, and European culture in the 18th century. Besides, Agostino's work is believed to have had a political motive in the Caribbean. The motive was to advocate for an anti-slavery community. This explains the name of this painting. He was advocating for the Caribbean rulers to free the woman of color and their children. Agostino also aimed at exposing the racial hierarchies of the West Indies. The artist was focused on painting at various Negro events such as dances, festivals, markets, and other cultural activities. His work was famous for showing the various interactions between the wealthy colonists and the natives. Therefore, this is an indication of where Agostino got the inspiration of making the Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape painting.
The painting has women of mixed races dressed in white, green, and yellow gowns. Some of them have scarfs wrapped on their heads while others are wearing cowboy hats. Beside them are three children holding hands. Two of the children are people of color, while one of them is white. The children are dressed in attire, suggesting that they are male. The black children seem to be wearing gumboots. Another woman on the far left is also holding a baby from the white race. In front of the women are three dogs. Two of them are white, while the one in the middle is black. Besides, the women are standing on land with green trees on either side.
The children in this painting are a symbolic cry for the abolition of the slave trade. If the authorities freed the children, then it meant that slavery would have come to an end. The children were the last generation to end the inhuman acts of slavery in the Caribbean (Browne, 2017). In addition, the artists use male children to show that freeing them from slavery would be an indication of freedom for the black race. During the colonial era, it is the men who were captured and sold as slaves to work on the white settlers' farms. As indicated in the painting, the black boys are dressed in shoes that are commonly worn when carrying out farm activities. On the contrary, the white boy seems to be wearing a different kind of shoe. Such shows that it was the work of the white settlers to supervise the blacks as they did the heavy work. Also, people are standing between land with green trees. The trees are a symbol of the fertile lands that the white settlers were using to exploit the slaves by forcing them to do farm work. Women and children were also required to work on the farms for them to earn a living. Hence, the artist's topic of the painting is a persuasion fo...