Isaac Mendes Belisario: Art in a Time of Grief
Isaac Mendes Belisario captured 19th-century Jamaican life with rare detail and cultural insight. His lithographs document Afro-Caribbean traditions like Jonkonnu, preserving the vibrancy, resilience, and rituals of post-emancipation society through a colonial lens both historical and revealing.
THEMUSEMETER GALLERY
About the Artist
Isaac Mendes Belisario was born in Kingston Jamaica in 1795 and died in 1849. Belisario was a prominent Jamaican artist who played a critical role in documenting the changing social dynamics in 19th century Jamaica. Belisario came from a Jewish family which was thriving in Jamaica. Belisarios work showed the social hierarchy of colonial Jamaica, the islands colonial history itself, and the changing Afro-Caribbean culture Jamaica underwent during this time.
Belisario is best known for his Sketches of Characters art pieces. These pieces were a series of sketches that captured the vibrant culture of Jamaican life during this time, particularly the islands Afro-Carribbean cultural events such as Jonkonnu. Jonkonnu is a masquerade like tradition that is rooted in West African culture. The tradition was adopted in Jamaica by enslaved and freed African peoples.
His detailed illustrations brought visibility to the unique cultural blend of practices in Jamaican Afro-Caribbean communities. His art offers one of the earliest visual representations of Jamaican folk life. Shedding light on Jamaica’s diverse African heritage population and its influence on the island's traditions.
Belisario's work received significant praise following the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834. This was then followed by a time of apprenticeship that ended in 1838. Newfound free Africans in the island of Jamaica now free began to navigate their life direction and express their culture further. Naturally tensions arose between plantation owners, free workers, and the colonial government who had suppressed African culture in the island.
Cultural renaissance started to form in Jamaica in Afro-Caribbean communities. More and more Jamaicans were adopting and adapting African Traditions as a form a protest. Jonkonnu as an example became a powerful symbol of cultural protest, against colonist suppression. blending African, European, and Caribbean influences into a vibrant celebration that expressed pure creativity.
Belisario’s Sketches of Character documents this cultural protest offering a rare glimpse into the development of a culture of vibrant expression in Jamaica.
Isaac Mendes Belisario, cover, No. 1, Sketches of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupations, and Costume of the Negro Population in the Island of Jamaica, 1837–38, hand-painted lithographic print (Yale Center for British Art)
Artist Exhibit
The work of Isaac Mendes Belisario on display.
Red Set-Girls, and Jack in the Green
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). Red Set-Girls, and Jack in the Green. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
Jaw-Bone and Koo, Koo
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). Jaw-Bone. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/ (Left)
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). Koo, Koo, or Actor-Boy. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/ (Right)
Queen, or "Maam" of the Set-Girls
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). Queen, or "Maam" of the Set-Girls. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
French Set-Girls
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). French Set-Girls. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
“Water-Jar Sellers,” “Chimney Sweeper,” and “Milkwoman
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). “Water-Jar Sellers,” “Chimney Sweeper,” and “Milkwoman”. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
Band of the Jaw-Bone John-Canoe
Belisario, I. M. (1837-1838). Band of the Jaw-Bone John-Canoe. In Sketches of Character. Lithograph. Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
Citations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Slavery and freedom: John Konnu's journey to freedom. Documenting the American South. Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/features/essays/johnkonnu-1/#footnote8
National Gallery of Jamaica. (2010, March 21). Isaac Mendes Belisario (1795–1849). Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://nationalgalleryofjamaica.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/isaac-mendes-belisario-1795-1849/
Association for Latin American Art. (n.d.). Afro-LA and Latinx resources. Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://associationlatinamericanart.org/afro-la-latinx-resources/
Smarthistory. (n.d.). Isaac Mendes Belisario, Sketches of character. Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://smarthistory.org/isaac-mendes-belisario-sketches-of-character/
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Slavery and freedom: John Konnu's journey to freedom. Documenting the American South. Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/features/essays/johnkonnu-1/#footnote13