The Aesthetic Redemption of the Black Body in Eighteenth-Century France.

This article examines the eighteenth-century French theory of "aesthetic redemption," which posited that art's formal qualities—such as technique, color, and composition—could transform and beautify subjects deemed unattractive or socially marginalized, particularly Black individuals. While artists like Marie-Guillemine Benoist and Anne-Louis Girodet created refined portraits of Black subjects, contemporary viewers often admired the artist's skill rather than the humanity or dignity of the sitter, maintaining prevailing racial prejudices. The theory allowed art to visually depart from racist stereotypes without challenging viewers' underlying biases, effectively privileging the artist's genius and aesthetic innovation over the subject's personhood. This dynamic complicated the relationship between art, race, and representation, as the "redemption" granted by art reinforced rather than subverted eighteenth-century racial hierarchies.