PAINT IT BLACK

Paint it Black
2019
Oil on canvas
205 x 152 cm

Paint it Black, a late 19th-century oil on canvas painted by Évariste-Vital Luminais, stands out with majesty. Framed in a rich border decorated with gilded plant motifs, it offers a striking depiction of a lady of high society draped in a purple-brown dress, her imposing stature permeating the space. This aristocrat challenges us with her direct gaze, her head tilted slightly forward, seeming to assert her ocular authority. 

However, it is in the diversion that the work reveals all its artistic power. Produced in 2019 by the artist Blase, it undergoes a bold transformation. The artist adorns the lady's face with a scarf, concealing the lower half of her face under a veil that reveals a sinister half-skull. The lady's eyes remain visible, but the rest of her face has been transformed into a dark skeleton. This scarf, once worn by soldiers in wartime to terrify their enemies, also evokes the design of characters in video games such as Call of Duty. The lady is also given a weapon, an AK-45, strategically positioned diagonally, ready to defend the aristocrat in her exquisite gown, embellished with lace and silk bows.

The impact of this metamorphosis gives the lady an aura of extraordinary power, making this one of Blase's most acclaimed works, where the détournement transcends the original work to project it into a dimension that is both provocative and seductive.