End of an Era 1980

Aydin Aghdashloo made "End of an Era" with what looks like thin layers of paint, almost like egg tempera, to create a melancholic portrait of power. It's a painting about the past, but with a raw, present-day intervention. I imagine Aghdashloo in the studio, carefully rendering the ornate details of the crown and jewelry, then making a decisive move: painting a big, fat X over the crest. It’s like he’s saying, "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future," and nothing, not even royalty, is immune. The added paper suggests a discarded letter, a crumpled message from a bygone era. Aghdashloo, like many painters, deals in layers of time and meaning. He’s in conversation with art history, wrestling with his cultural heritage, and maybe critiquing it too. Painting's funny that way – it holds space for both reverence and irreverence.