Exotic and Familiar: Constructing Martinique, 1763–1902

Author

Remi D. Poindexter, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Date of Degree

6-2025

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Art History

Advisor

Judy Sund

Committee Members

Katherine Manthorne

Mona Hadler

Elizabeth C. Childs

Subject Categories

American Art and Architecture | Modern Art and Architecture | Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Keywords

Martinique, French Caribbean, Travel art, Postcards, Exoticism, Postcards

Abstract

This dissertation examines the evolution of Martinique’s image, from the 1760s to the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, which destroyed its thriving city of Saint-Pierre. In paintings, illustrations, and photographs, Martinique was visually constructed by artists as both exotic and Europeanized—a colonized space in which notions of periphery and center, foreign and familiar were complicated. Martinique had cities whose paved streets and modern amenities echoed European capitals, but it was also a plantation economy forcibly worked by enslaved people. Some visual artists highlighted Martinique’s timeless tropicality, while others emphasized its successful Frenchification and cosmopolitanism. Several extolled colonial Martinique’s agrarian productivity, but few acknowledged the exploitation that underpinned it.

Early paintings and illustrations often reflected French impressions of and aspirations for Martinique—presenting a fertile land with exotic inhabitants and novel goods. Many works were populated by local characters—mostly women dressed in striking regional styles. These included seductive multiracial women (embodying Frenchness and otherness), laundresses (tropical versions of European types), and women carrying goods on their heads (distinct Caribbean spectacles). There were also attempts to fashion Martinique as French through projects and monuments—such as Saint-Pierre’s botanical garden, a monument to Empress Joséphine, and a state-of-the-art drydock in Fort-de-France. Producers of images made for tourists and armchair travelers (e.g. postcards and travel books) often emphasized the exotic aspects of Martinique, while downplaying others, often romanticizing the island as a timelessly exotic colony with a distinct air of France. As Caribbean tourism increased, images—including works by Paul Gauguin—often responded to visual tropes that circulated in postcards and travelogues.

My analysis of images produced in varied media, over the course of some 140 years, shows the ways Martinique’s image straddled the realms of the timelessly exotic and the familiarly French—a vision that lingers to this day.

Recommended Citation

Poindexter, Remi D., "Exotic and Familiar: Constructing Martinique, 1763–1902" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6277