Warning: This blog post contains strong and sometimes challenging imagery, including depictions of slavery, violence and suffering.
Baroque Britain
When I visited the Baroque Britain exhibition at Tate Britain I was surprised that there was a Content Warning at the entrance to the second room. This warned us that some of the images were disturbing and might upset visitors. Specifically, a massive painting by Benedetto Gennari the Younger which shows black people in collars and chains. Slaves, in other words.
Portrait of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin by Benedetto Gennari the Younger (1674)
A handful of other paintings show rich people – men and women – being served or accompanied by black servants, but this is the only one where the black people (all boys, I think) are wearing very obvious metal slave collars round their throats.
William Blake
This is the second warning notice I’m aware of Tate putting…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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