![]() Beyoncé and her dancers-all women of colour-dance in a line in front of the painting, which shows their defiance and strength by swaying in solidarity. The painting illustrates a moment of glory for Napoleon, and simultaneously ignores Napoleon’s expansion of French colonial land in the Middle East and Africa. “Apeshit” also forces us to re-examine Jacques-Louis David’s The Coronation of Napoleon: An image revered for having captured the crowning of the imperial family. An example is Paul Gauguin’s Barbarous Tales which depicts two naked tahitian women, one of many of the artists’ racially stereotyping images trying to paint the “primitive” landscape of the French Polynesia. When people of colour are the subjects of works of art, they are often fetishized: Portrayed as uncivilized and, at times, dangerous. However, it doesn’t take an art history buff to realize that such institutions fail to represent people of colour both as subjects and as artists. The Louvre is one of the most influential museums in the world and draws millions of visitors each year. Given the lyrics’ focus on the Carters’ extreme wealth and influence-Beyonce sings of “expensive fabrics” and “expensive habits”-the Louvre seems like an appropriate setting for the video. By cleverly paralleling the work’s fame with their own, the Carters demonstrate that black excellence can be just as formidable as the Mona Lisa herself. The Mona Lisa is even on the album’s cover, where it is foregrounded by a black couple holding an afro pick. The video’s opening depicts the Carters standing regally in front of the painting, stealing La Joconde’s spotlight. ![]() Works such as the Mona Lisa are often seen as timeless and classic images of beauty, but Beyoncé and Jay-Z challenge this notion with their very presence beside the famed painting. The Carters defy the colonial history of artworks in the Louvre: They challenge the Louvre’s Eurocentric art by showcasing the beauty of people of colour and re-contextualizing famous Western art. The audience follows the Carters showcasing their wealth and success, acknowledging the sacrifices of those before them, and crooning “This is what we’re thankful” in the song’s chorus. The video features acclaimed works from the famed gallery, including Mona Lisa, The Coronation of Napoleon, and Venus de Milo. That same day, they shared the music video for the the album’s second track “ Apeshit ,” filmed entirely at the Louvre. On June 16, Beyoncé and Jay-Z released their surprise joint album, Everything is Love.
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