Title

Charles I

Description

St. Louisan Ashley Cooper stands with one hand on her hip in front of a vibrant floral backdrop that winds in front of and around her. Cooper’s pose is based on the stance of Charles I of England in a 1633 portrait by Dutch painter Daniel Mytens I in the Museum’s collection. Artist Kehinde Wiley uses the long‑standing practice of portraiture to address absences and erasures of black individuals in European and American art history. In his paintings, Wiley replaces white figures depicted in historical artworks with images of contemporary African Americans, Africans, and people of the African diaspora. In 2017, Wiley visited neighborhoods in north St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, where he selected Cooper and other individuals to pose for his paintings.

Creator

Kehinde Wiley

Subject

African Americans

St. Louis History

Medium

Oil on linen

Date

2018

Source

St. Louis Art Museum

Identifier

27:2019