Marie Antoinette Poderosa

Acrylic on canvas

60″x 36″

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

A large-scale black, white and gold regency era-inspired pointillism figurative painting of Marie Antoinette. In plain black and white; the big hair we know her for is on full display. The over-the-top dress that inspired thousands of other dresses, and the excessive jewelry she’s criticized for are flaunted unabashedly. These types of critiques can be said about anyone, even about you. Look around……

For the last 7 years Battifora has been inspired by the iconic woman, Marie Antoinette. She is a modern-day metaphor for controversy, luxury, abundance, and an unapologetic love of beautiful things; in a time when more and more people are obsessed with celebrities, politicians, selfies, and influencers. Battifora sees her as perhaps the “first” influencer in modern history. Living in a male-dominated society she found her voice and power by reinventing herself. This yearning for individualistic expression through social media is something we see today around the world. Marie Antoinette’s head can be cut off a hundred times, but she keeps coming back again and again in different shapes and forms.

Battifora’s paintings are a celebration of unashamed fabulousness and the power in reinventing oneself and becoming what we want others to see. In his M.A. paintings, the Queen looks back at us with a defiant and unabashed stare. She looks at the viewer with confidence as if to tell them: “I’m looking at you; you are not looking at me”. Do you have to like it? No. Do you have to deal with it? Of course!