A Cudgelling Match between English and French Negroes in the Island of Dominica
This oil painting shows two men stick-fighting with a man and two women watching. Agostino Brunias (1730–1796), also Brunyas, Brunais, was an Italian painter. He went to London in 1758 where he became acquainted with William Young, who was appointed to a high governmental post in West Indian territories acquired by Britain from France during the Seven Year’s War. In late 1764, Brunias accompanied Young to the Caribbean as his personal artist. Arriving in early 1765, Brunias stayed in the islands until around 1775, when he returned to England and exhibited some of his paintings. He returned to the West Indies in 1784 and remained there until his death on the island of Dominica in 1796. Although Brunias primarily resided in Dominica, he also spent time in St. Vincent and visited other islands, including Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts and Tobago. See Lennox Honychurch, “Chatoyer's Artist: Agostino Brunias and the Depiction of St Vincent,” Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society 50 (2004): p.104-128; Hans Huth, “Agostino Brunias, Romano,” The Connoisseur 51 (1962): p. 265-269. See also image NW0158.
Image Title
A Cudgelling Match between English and French Negroes in the Island of Dominica
RegID
SI-OB-973
Date
1779
Title
A Cudgelling Match between English and French Negroes in the Island of Dominica
Source
National Library of Jamaica, Institute of Jamaica, Kingston
Language
English
Item sets
Music, Dance & Recreational Activities
Spatial Coverage
Caribbean--Dominica
Reproduced In
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-58304.
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Kenneth Bilby; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
Brunias001