Negro marrons surprised by dogs, Slavery memorial in Avenue Louise, Brussels, Belgium

Nègres marrons surpris par des chiens is a white Carrara marble group by Louis Samain on Avenue Louise. A muscular, near-naked man with short curly hair tilts his head back and raises his right arm, holding a small child against his left side; a second figure crouches below gripping his leg, with a chain near the base. The group stands on a tall, plain, uninscribed stepped grey stone pedestal with a broad flared foot on a low platform.

The sculpture began as a plaster model created by Louis Samain, which the Belgian state acquired in 1894. The marble version was installed on Avenue Louise in 1895 and stands there still.

The sculpture references the experiences of enslaved people fleeing persecution, drawing on literary works from the 1800s that explored these themes. Visitors today can witness how the work honors those who endured such suffering.

The memorial sits along Avenue Louise and is easy to visit while exploring this busy boulevard. You can view the work anytime since it stands freely in the open air and requires no special arrangements.

After the white marble group was unveiled, Brussels newspapers criticised the choice of material, judging bronze more natural for depicting Black people; the work was then popularly nicknamed "le nègre blanc" (the white negro). In 2020 local residents launched a petition to remove it from public space, which did not succeed, and unlike many statues linked to Leopold II it was not defaced with paint.