Obama Portrait Artist Kehinde Wiley Once Painted Black Women Decapitating White Women
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.
Also Read:Twitter Drags Obama Portraits: 'Yikes, That's Awful'
That Obama artist, Kehinde Wiley, is also know for these fun paintings, which you can file under
"Imagine if this showed a TKTK " pic.twitter.com/4M0Tg1rZSG
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 12, 2018
“Judith and Holofernes is from Wiley’s most recent body of work and his first series of paintings to feature female subjects,” a 2012 explanation of the work from the North Carolina Museum of Art foundation reads. “Wiley translates this image of a courageous, powerful woman into a contemporary version that resonates with fury and righteousness.”
In a New York Magazine piece also from 2012, Wiley explained that the impetus for the work came from the renditions of the Biblical scene by Renaissance artists Caravaggio and Gentileschi.
In keeping with his long-running style of painting black subjects in poses based on classic imagery from Western art and iconography, Wiley depicted Judith as a powerful black woman. His reasons for keeping Holofernes white and changing the general into a woman remain less clear.
A representative for the artist did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Related:
Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Twitter Drags Obama Portraits: 'Yikes, That's Awful'
Jeanine Pirro Under Fire After Blaming President Obama for Rob Porter Mess – You Read That Right
Donald Trump's First SOTU Address Audience Dwarfs Barack Obama's Final One
Ratings: Trump's SOTU Down From Obama's 2010 Debut – and Fox Is to Blame
