Beyoncé and Jay-Z album: Six art history references you may have missed from new video Apesh**
Beyoncé and Jay Z have done it again.
Just when fans were beginning to get their breath back from the launch of their OTR II tour in the UK this week, the hip hop power couple dropped their latest album, without warning, bang slap in the middle of their second London date.
Cue losses of minds across the Bey-and-Hova-appreciating universe and beyond, with art history buffs also getting a Sunday morning treat.
Alongside the album drop, The Carters released the video for new song Apesh**, which sees the pair and accompanying dancers command the Louvre in Paris.
The video has been hailed as a move to address the imbalance of recording BAME figures in Western art history, with the couple inserting themselves and others as powerful figures in the museum, alongside some of the world’s most famous artworks.
The video is packed with art-historical treasures that allude to the couple’s messages of power and growth. One twitter user and art history student, @itsmeheidi_h, explained to the world just what was going on in the video.
Mona Lisa
19) This is apparent in the lyrics
“I can’t believe we made it” and “This is what we’re thankful for.” Beyoncé recognizes and celebrates her accomplishments in addition to the oppression of others in a historically white space, an act which in and of itself is radical. pic.twitter.com/Iq61PmzyxL— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
Beyoncé and Jay-Z repeatedly show themselves in front of the Mona Lisa, comfortably the most iconic artwork in the world. By placing themselves alongside Leonardo’s painting, the Carters claim their ground as musicians of the same stature.
The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Joséphine on December 2, 1804
6) Most of the art featured in this video is from the Neoclassical period, meaning the Napoleonic era. Reminder, Napoleon was the worst and went around colonizing much of Egypt, Syria, etc. This painting is The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques Louis David. pic.twitter.com/tagQgqouz0
— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
Beyoncé and a crowd of dancers perform in front of this painting by French artist Jacques Louis David. The issues the Carters tackle here are many and complex, ranging from Napoleon’s rise to power as a self made man, to the couple’s integral role in colonialism, as well as Josephine’s position as a seriously powerful woman in international politics.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
Y’all this #Apeshit video has me losing my shit. This moment right here is the fulfillment of my art history degree. Beyoncé’s vision and talent is unmatched. Stay tuned for some thoughts. #Beyoncé #EverythingIsLove pic.twitter.com/IMrVlyl6wf
— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
In probably the best bit of the video, Beyoncé is shown dancing furiously in front of The Winged Victory of Samothrace. A former masthead from an Ancient Greek ship, the sculpture steps forward against the element is an immeasurably forceful, powerful depiction of the female figure – much like Mrs Carter herself.
The Great Sphinx of Tanis
8) Josephine is clad in fine French silks and velvets and Beyoncé is slaying in Burberry. She’s empress and Jay-Z is emperor. However, there is much more depth to that self-modeled comparison because of—you guessed it—colonialism. pic.twitter.com/WObjiu4Ct0
— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
Beyoncé and Jay-Z dance in front of a Sphinx in the Ancient Egyptian galleries – one of the few areas of the gallery where one can find powerful depictions of BAME figures. Beyonce has previously referenced Egyptian Queen Nefertiti in previous performances.
Madame Recamier by Jacques Louis David
12) This is a portrait of Juliette Récamier by David. She hosted one of the most popular salons in the city and was a brilliant intellectual. However, the styling of these two women is much more similar to Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s Portrait of a Black Woman. pic.twitter.com/89VRMsGxiS
— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
Another painting by Jacques Louis David, this portrait is of Juliette Recamier, a famed 19th century socialite. Below her, two black female dancers sit, mimicking her Neoclassical style of fashionable dress by being connected by a white, flowing turban, Marie-Guillemine Beniost's Portrait of a Black Woman.
Venus de Milo
5) Here, Beyoncé once again models herself as a Greek statue, this time the Venus de Milo. However, in this shot she wears a nude bodysuit with wrapped hair, reframing both goddesses of beauty and victory as a black woman. This dismantles white-centric ideals of beauty. pic.twitter.com/W8vRT9hoNo
— Queen Curly Fry (@itsmeheidi_h) June 17, 2018
This Ancient Greek statue is one of the most famous depictions of female beauty in art history. An armless figure of a nude woman, Beyoncé dances in front of her wearing a nude leotard – instead of motionless and to be looked at, she is active and powerful.