The Slave Market

The Slave Market is a painting first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1886 by the French artist Gustave Boulanger, who specialized in classical and Orientalist genre scenes. Its title in the Salon catalogue was Un Maquignon d’esclaves à Rome (A Slave Dealer in Rome), but as early as 1888 it was called Vente d’esclaves (Sale of Slaves) in the French press, and in English it has become known as The Slave Market. It is sometimes compared to or confused with various paintings of slave markets in the Arab world and the ancient world by Boulanger's friend and fellow painter Jean-Léon Gérôme.