A painting. Four children and two dolls, one white, the other black. The “Portrait of the Four Children of Emile Gaillard” was painted in 1868 by the French artist James Tissot. What is this black doll doing in a 19th-century painting? This doll’s play appears neither in the title of the work nor in its label. How can we explain the silence surrounding this doll? Did no one notice it? What, or rather who, does it represent?

Louise Thurin and Seumboy Vrainom launch an investigation to understand the symbolism of this little black doll that nobody talks about. They are joined by three main contributors, each of whom brings their own unique perspective to unravel the threads of the painting. Together, they open up new avenues of understanding and reveal new and enlightening perspectives on this page of French history.