Her Majesty Famine, Queen of Sicily Possibly 1898

Maximilien Luce rendered "Her Majesty Famine, Queen of Sicily" as a lithograph. We don’t have an exact date for this piece, but Luce was alive during the Russian famine of 1891-92. The artwork depicts a spectral queen amidst a landscape of death. The choice of the queen as the subject underscores Luce's commentary on power and privilege amidst widespread suffering. The famine isn't just a natural disaster; it's a consequence of political and economic systems. Luce was a committed anarchist, and his beliefs likely fueled his critique of social injustice and inequality. The queen's serene, almost bemused expression, is chilling given the devastation surrounding her. Her placement against the backdrop of Sicily speaks to regional disparities and perhaps broader issues of governance and resource allocation. There's a haunting stillness to the scene, making us witnesses to the quiet horror of starvation. The artist asks us to reflect on who benefits from systemic failures and who pays the ultimate price.