Imagine a Trump portrait painter having done previous “boundary-pushing” works showing a white woman beheading a black woman
Now what do you suppose Michele O’s portrait painter could have done with this one?
From San Francisco ~~Gate
With his rendering of President Barack Obama, Kehinde Wiley became the first African American to ever paint an official presidential portrait, but the new-found fame has also drawn attention to some of the artist’s more boundary-pushing past works.
Two paintings from 2012, depicting the Biblical story of Judith beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes, began making the rounds online on Monday. In Wiley’s rendering, Judith is depicted as a black woman and Holofernes as a white woman.
Fans of the Obama portrait will recognize Wiley’s photo-realistic human figures, distinct colors and prominent use of floral backgrounds.
Ol’ Kehinde day job is with Wallpaper R Us. Here are the portraits for the Smithsonian of Barack and Michelle (two different portraitists). Michelle’s has all the detail and blending of a paint by numbers work, although the portraitist did get close to capturing Michelle’s sneer.
