Portrait of Zaga Christ | The Morgan Library & Museum Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden

This important portrait miniature of Zaga Christ by Giovanna Garzoni (previously with Philip Mould & Company) was acquired by The Allen Memorial Art Museum. The remarkable work is the earliest known European portrait miniature to depict a black sitter and will be highlighted in a virtual talk hosted by The Morgan Library & Museum for their exhibition Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden. 

With exception of The Magi, The representation of black people in Early Modern Europe was rare, and when Afro-European people were depicted, much like their marginalised social status, this tended to be restricted to the peripheries.  However, unusually here the independent sitter, named by Philip Mould & Co. as the claimant to the Ethiopian throne, Zaga Christ, is depicted in an individualised manner. 

This important and significant portrait miniature will be discussed virtually at The Morgan Library & Museum for Van Eyck to Mondrian: 300 Years of Collecting in Dresden  on 23rd January  by the curator Austeja Machelaite. Join the waitlist for the talk here.