Saint Amelie
"Saint Amelie" is one of a series of twelve freestanding stained glass panels by Kehinde Wiley that depict contemporary portraits of young Black residents of Brooklyn, New York. It mirrors the form, composition, figural pose, and framing of historic stained glass windows from the medieval and Renaissance periods (examples are shown nearby), and specifically a window titled "Saint Amelie" by the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780‒1867). Wiley honors his subject, Kern Alexander, whom he used as a model in multiple works, by depicting him in a context traditionally reserved for Christian saints and religious contemplation. Like much in Wiley’s work, "Saint Amelie" explores the invisibility of Black people within the traditional art historical canon.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Created by Kehinde Wiley, 2014; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 2022.
Exhibitions
| 2022-2023 | ouverture. Cité du Vitrail, Troyes. |
Measurements
Overall window H: 98 7/8 × W: 45 7/16 in. (251.2 × 115.4 cm); Overall framed H: 100 3/16 × W: 46 11/16 × D: 5 7/8 in. (254.5 × 118.6 × 15 cm); Top section, H: 35 1/4 × W: 43 1/2 × D: 5/16 in. (89.5 × 110.5 × 0.8 cm); Middle section, H: 27 7/8 × W: 43 7/16 × D: 5/16 in. (70.8 × 110.3 × 0.8 cm); Bottom section, H: 31 11/16 × W: 43 9/16 × D: 5/16 in. (80.5 × 110.7 × 0.8 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds provided by William A. Bradford and the W. Alton Jones Foundation Acquisition Fund, 2022
Acquisition In Honor of Jacqueline "Jackie" Tibbs Copeland (1947-2023), Walters Art Museum Director of Education and Public Programming, Deputy Director for Audience Engagement, and Special Advisor on Strategic Partnerships (2000-2015), an enthusiastic advocate for audiences of all ages and backgrounds who also led the museum to acquire works that expand the representation of women and artists of color
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: 15th-Century Art of Northern Europe
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
46.92
Creative Commons License