A Painting That Tried to Hide History

By: B. Macedo 

Frédéric Frey was a wealthy German merchant who lived in New Orleans in the early 19th century with his wife, Marie Frey. He had ordered the French painter to make a portrait of his three children in 1837: Léontine, 4 years old, Élisabeth Coralie, 9 years old, and Frédéric Émile, 5 years old at the time. On the same year the painting was made, Léontine and Élisabeth perished of yellow fever. Frédéric Émile died a few years later, in 1846. Soon later, the family experienced a deep financial problem and had to pay off many debts. However, the family still remained in possession of the painting for generations that lead to the following century. The portrait was finally donated to the New Orleans Museum of Art in 1972.

In 2005, the painting left the museum and was sold at an auction. While the work of art was being restored, something very peculiar was seen.  There was a 4th individual in the painting. It would match the account given by the descendant of the Freys in the 70’s. She had said that there was an enslaved person that had been painted over. And indeed there was; standing near a tree in the background, was Bélizaire, a 15 year-old slave owned by the Frey family. 

Bélizaire had been purchased by the Freys when he was 6 years old along with his mother. He lived closely to the Frey children, and even though his past is unclear, it is rumoured that he was the son of Frédéric. It was common for the time for men to have relationships with slaves, and his resemblance to the children should certainly be taken into account. When the Freys found themselves in the midst of financial difficulties, they sold Bélizaire in 1841 to pay off their debts. It is unclear when the child was taken off the portrait. Some speculate that it was in the early 20th century, but there is also a family myth that states that Frédéric Frey got caught in an argument with Bélizaire, and therefore sold him.

This painting represents a very significant part of history for two different reasons. First, it is one of the only paintings available that shows an enslaved person in a naturalistic manner. Bélizaire is not presented as inferior to the children, or servicing them. He uses clothes of the same quality as the Freys, and while he is further in the background, he is relevant for the picture. But at the same time, it shows how things are not always what they seem. Bélizaire was painted out due to the shame of the family of having an enslaved person in a picture that symbolized their heritage. It stands as a truly unique and dual moment of history – and it is only one example of history trying to be erased, which still happens to this day.
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As for Bélizaire, he did not have a tragic fate after all. He was purchased three more times and survived to be emancipated after the American Civil War. The last record of him was from 1865, when he was 37 years old. Moreover, he gets to stand as a completely distinct moment in American history, which will certainly not be forgotten. Since 2021, the portrait Bélizaire and the Frey Children stands at The Met in New York.