Summary Of Behind The Myth Of Benevolence

In 2014, Titus Kaphar created a painting named, Behind the Myth of Benevolence. This painting reimagines the famous portrait by Rembrandt Peale, Thomas Jefferson, simply consisting of a depiction of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. In the other portrait, an unclothed, Black woman is portrayed. The two portraits are distinguished by a curtain-like effect creating the illusion of the Jefferson portrait falling off and revealing the scene behind, the depiction of the Black woman that was once hidden. In his painting, Titus Kaphar aims to demonstrate the institutionalized rape and abuse of Black women at the hands of white slave owners throughout history, and in doing so, forces viewers to confront the harsh realities

The composition and stylistic choices in this painting contribute to showcasing the exploitation of black women throughout history. Firstly, this portrait begs the question, can art amend history? Through this portrait, Kaphar peels off the layer of the white perspective of history, by literally drawing back the curtain of the Thomas Jefferson portrait. This curtain might be representative of the attempts to cover up the brutalities that black people faced during slavery, but by drawing this curtain open, Kaphar impels his audience to see the truth. The portrait of Thomas Jefferson is mirrored, which, according to Art is Color, might indicate that we are viewing this portrait from behind, or from a different angle, one that we are not supposed to be seeing ( “Behind the Myth of Benevolence by Titus Kaphar: Great Art

In the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the colors used are white and brighter than that of the portrait behind. This demonstrates the contrast between the circumstances of each portrait. In history, Jefferson held a great deal of power and lived comfortably as a beneficiary of slavery. In the portrait of Jefferson, this is represented through the color white and the warm tones. Contrasting this, the portrait of the woman has a darker color palette and contains cool tones. In the background, the woman is surrounded by a lot of dark space. This conveys an ominous tone that reflects the atrocities that Black women faced at the hands of white slave owners. The juxtaposition of the warm and cool tones illustrates the real-life tension between the two figures. In the portrait of the woman, there are various iconographic elements illustrated, such as the woman’s blue and gold headwrap, the golden water pitcher, the table covered with a blue mantle, and the golden wash basin. These pops of colors are uncharacteristic for this portrait considering its black background. According to Art in Color, one might assume that the elements portrayed in the painting are the woman’s most prized possessions, highlighting that she did not have much (“Behind the Myth of Benevolence by Titus Kaphar: Great Art Explained”). Opposingly, these elements might also serve to heighten the