Harmonia Rosales, a Chicago-based Afro-Cuban painter is receiving backlash for her alteration of what has always been known as ‘normal’. Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” is one of the most famous works of art ever created, as we all know.
However, when this female Chicago-based painter decided to create her own version of “The Creation of Adam” in 2017. She received a lot of backlashes. The reason? She reimagined God and the First Man as a black woman.
The New York Post reported that her version depicts the deity not as a white-haired man, but as a black woman, reaching to touch another black woman.
However, even though her painting attracted thousands of likes on social media when she posted it, it also sparked a lot of controversies. Many critics described her work as “disgusting”, a “desecration of an artistic masterpiece” and a “cultural appropriation”.
Rosales said at the time that she wanted to take a significant painting, a painting that is widely recognized and consciously or subconsciously conditions us to see whiter male figures as powerful and authoritative and she wanted to flip the script and establish a counter-narrative.
She added that white figures are a staple in classic art featured in major museums, and they are the “masters” of masterpieces. According to her, it only makes sense to paint God as a black woman because all human life came out of Africa, the Garden of Eden and all.
Still, the idea of a black female God got many people angry, and some people even criticized her for basing her painting on Michelangelo’s work, rather than creating something new.
Below are some more of her beautiful paintings.
Harmonia Rosales Paintings
News source: fempositive.com
Photos: Instagram/Harmonia Rosales
