The Subjugation of Truth 2016

Kent Monkman made this painting, The Subjugation of Truth, using oil paint in a traditional style. It really feels like Monkman has thought deeply about how to make an image, and how to create a dialogue with art history. The painting has a classical, almost academic quality to it, but with an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Monkman uses thin, transparent layers of paint in a way that is very controlled, and that allows him to create a convincing illusion of reality. Look at the man in the centre and the way his suit is painted, the artist really knows how to work with tone and colour to make these figures look like real people. Yet something isn't right. There are so many textures and subtle shifts of tone, and yet, the artist has not been seduced by the surface appearance of things; instead, he remains committed to expressing a feeling, an emotion, or an idea. The portrait of Queen Victoria hanging in the background is so interesting because the picture is a very powerful symbol of an older generation of artists who really believed that art could give you the truth about something.