Is Theresa May cosplaying as Napoleon? What this portrait tells us about powerful women
Source: The Guardian
Imagine a leader. What do you see? How are they presented? What are they wearing? Are they up on a platform or down on the ground? In uniform or in a dress? Are they regal and smart? Full frontal or turned to the side? If it’s a woman, what comes to mind? Last week, Theresa May’s official portrait, by the Persian-born British-based painter Saied Dai, was unveiled. I don’t know what I was expecting – but it definitely wasn’t this. At first glance, I found her appearance cold and androgynous, the style evoking that of wartime with its muddying palette and sharp angular shapes. The more I sat with it, the more I realised how good a painting it was, with incredible psychological insight into its subject and the times in which we are living.
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 11 September 2023.
Imagine a leader. What do you see? How are they presented? What are they wearing? Are they up on a platform or down on the ground? In uniform or in a dress? Are they regal and smart? Full frontal or turned to the side? If it’s a woman, what comes to mind? Last week, Theresa May’s official portrait, by the Persian-born British-based painter Saied Dai, was unveiled. I don’t know what I was expecting – but it definitely wasn’t this. At first glance, I found her appearance cold and androgynous, the style evoking that of wartime with its muddying palette and sharp angular shapes. The more I sat with it, the more I realised how good a painting it was, with incredible psychological insight into its subject and the times in which we are living.
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 11 September 2023.