ISAAC
Slave of Thomas Jefferson
(three-quarter view)

MEDIUM:
Painted clay model, 23"H x 24"W

TYPE OF WORK:
Portrait

COMPARATIVE DESCRIPTIONS:
Jefferson is shown in approved portraiture fashion, with head slightly turned. The pose is one which would have been chosen by a professional sculptor, and one which would have suited Jefferson himself, conscious as he was of his importance to history. He is shown only as head and neck covered by a fur collar (late in life, he was very fond of a coat with this fur collar), for he was a "man of ideas," and astonishing intellectual prowess. He is shown, too, with an expression of characteristic confidence and optimism, a "man of the Enlightenment" who believed ardently in the future.
 
Isaac, as depicted in the photograph, is shown face forward, square with his shoulders. It is a stiff, "amateurish" pose, lacking in the self-conscious esteem present in Jefferson. At the same time, the pose is guarded, as though Isaac is blocking our access to his inner self. His facial expression is also masked; there is a feeling of entrenched resignation, lurking sullenness, and perhaps even a hint of threat, yet we can only infer these feelings; Isaac himself certainly could not have risked exposure of his thoughts or feelings. Certainly not in 1840, in Virginia. Not to a photographer who was most probably white, not even to the interviewer, who was apparently sympathetic, but also probably white. Nevertheless, with his shirt open almost to the bottom of his breast bone, he is "exposed" to us, and we are very aware of his physical self. He is powerful, the "brawn" that enabled Jefferson to translate his ideas into reality. Isaac wears his workman's apron - not even a very good one, apparently, as it seems to be tied with a string or thong, in a "whatever- is-at- hand"fashion. Couldn't Jefferson have provided better gear for this slave, who must have occupied an important place in the workings of Monticello? Or does the shop-worn quality of the apron reflect Jefferson's own perilous financial situation late in his life?
 
For all of the differences between Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Isaac does share, I think, one quality with his master; he, like Jefferson, will forever be a mystery to us, locked into a time and circumstances which we can never fully untangle.

AVAILABLE:
True Bronze mounted on polished stone base. Available for donation at cost to a suitable organization.

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