Portrait of a Black and Red Butterfly Man

Contemporary portrait wall art in the form of Jean-Baptiste Colbert from the mid 17th century by Philippe de Champaigne with the addition of black and red butterfly. In the spirit of having some fun, you could sometimes perceive that it could come at the expense of someone. The subject beneath the butterfly is arguably a good ‘someone’ being a quite aloof and arrogant Jean-Baptiste Colbert whom, despite having a large responsibility in helping ensure France’s economic well-being for two centuries with the founding of the Académie Royale, Colbert was also the author of what became the Code Noir (1685).

This decree gave legal sanction to a brutal system of torture and repression intended to enforce the institution of slavery in the French colonial empire, restricted the activities of free Blacks, made Roman Catholicism a compulsory religion, and ordered Jews to leave the colonies. So to poke fun at such a person could be a source of satisfaction. The butterfly here is predominantly dark, but with it still carries a softness and gentle nature to temper the dark image beneath.