Proclamación de la abolición de la esclavitud en las colonias francesas, 27 de abril de 1848

In February 1848 revolution swept out the French monarchy, and within weeks the new republic did something the old regime had refused: on 27 April it abolished slavery across the French colonies. This huge canvas, painted the following year, shows the instant the decree was read out in a colonial square. A newly freed man and woman stand at the centre, arms flung up, while around them former slaves, colonists, soldiers and priests crowd together. Biard fills their faces with more than joy, adding relief and a deliberate dignity. The new interior minister bought the picture for the state, and it hung at the Salon of 1849. It went on to become one of the most reproduced images in French school history books.