The OG Show

Aaliyah in Yves Saint Laurent, 2001.

BEYONCÉ for Essence Magazine

New Jack City (1991) dir. Mario Van Peebles

One of the best parts of doing this work over the course of years is that I keep find bigger, better, and higher resolution photographs of my all-time favorite works. This woman from Zanzibar (ostensibly) holding a pangolin has captured my imagination ever since I first laid eyes on a photo of a reproduction-of-a-reproduction; five days ago Sotheby’s posted this big, clear image. Check out the full painting + details here; they’ve also transcribed the inscription on the back of it. <3

Mary J. Blige on Yo! MTV Raps

The information around this work has changed slightly since I originally posted it several years ago, and it should probably be in what I’d consider the “regular” collection rather than under the “1800s Week” tag. I’ve also updated the links to working and recent condition. ;) It goes to show that while it’s not known who created it, to exactly when, nor who is depicted in the artwork, what we *can* learn from it is still amazing.

Alessandro de'Medici was the Duke of Florence 1530-37. His mother was Simonetta da Collevecchio, a servant of African descent in the Medici household.

The Image of the Black in Western Art Research Project and Photo Archive, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University