ABSTRACT

Ranked among his most indelible compositions, based on its singular symmetry and the parity of the figures, Géricault’s image of tense fighters raises questions of racial harmony—an uneasy confrontation between a black man and a white man mimicking each other’s pose … a pitting of volatile bodies that transcends the ring. At first glance, les Boxeurs denotes a match of equals—equal in strength, but only in strength! As powerhouses, hardened men familiar with combat, Géricault’s stalwart boxers will be mercilessly hammering each other with their bare hands. Bulwarks of their race, they steadfastly confront each other, one dark black, and the other blanched white. Dating Géricault’s print is problematic, but that issue hinges upon the nature of the subject it depicts. Molineaux is considered the opponent Géricault’s sturdy black faces—thus linking a black pugilist known for battling whites in the ring, pummeling them with his fists, with Géricault’s fictive black boxer.