# Obama portraits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** arts-crafts\ **Created:** [February 13, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760 "2018-02-13T13:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/61 "2018-02-13T23:50:43Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I would be very surprised if it turned out that a viewer’s political leanings did not impact her opinion of the portraits. It probably does, I don’t disagree with that. That could be said of _everyone_ whether your expectations were high because you adore them or you are looking to snark because you loathe them. My point was, everyone who is giving a thumbs down is not doing it because they necessarily dislike the Obamas or is the dreaded R-word. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/62 "2018-02-14T00:04:00Z")
One problem with reproductions is you can’t get a sense of scale. Wiley’s works are generally large, as is this, as seen here: > **[Obama Unveils Official Presidential Portrait by Kehinde Wiley](https://www.google.ca/amp/s/pitchfork.com/news/obama-unveils-official-presidential-portrait-by-kehinde-wiley/amp/)** > > The artist has previously painted Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash, and more I’ve been tricked enough times by seeing online reproductions not to make any interpretations of a painting until I’ve seen it in person. I don’t have time to looke it up but I believe Sharald’s paintings are much smaller. I’m wondering whether her portrait of Michelle Obama will be as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/63 "2018-02-14T00:10:09Z")
[Dispelling the Sean Hannity nonsense with one picture](http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2016/9/23/7e02e39fb0f4476fab55e9f8a5e71178_18.jpg) In case you don’t visit the pit and are seeing that stuff on your FB feeds. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/64 "2018-02-14T00:10:10Z")
Hers is shorter and wider I would say. [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/13/michelle-obama-portrait-message-dress-216971](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/13/michelle-obama-portrait-message-dress-216971) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/65 "2018-02-14T00:13:49Z")
Michelle’s is fine. Barrack’s looks bad. It looks like a bad green screen. The art for Barrack himself looks fine. The background by itself looks nice. But they look wrong together. There is no ground, yet you can see the chair legs. And there are no shadows or depth of any kind between them. Sure, overlaying some parts does help, but it still looks bad. It’s like an uncanny valley affect, really. Since the background looks so close actually “being there,” the parts that aren’t there stand out. This is unlike a lot of the artists other works, which either make the background look more like a flat wall behind the person, don’t show the feet so that the shadow/floor issue is better, or both. Heck, some even include a floor, which helps so much. Look at [this quick crop](https://i.imgur.com/rGPW2H6.jpg). Does it not make the painting look a lot better? ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/66 "2018-02-14T00:18:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Look at [this quick crop](https://i.imgur.com/rGPW2H6.jpg). Does it not make the painting look a lot better? Yes, that is an improvement! Much less distraction, so you are drawn to his face more. And on closer inspection, are these paintings or photographic collages? I don’t care for that pasted on look. It looks cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/67 "2018-02-14T00:42:01Z")
I think Michelle’s portrait is lovely. I think it captures her long-limbed grace. It recalls her poise and charm. For me, it successfully recalls aspects her persona and is therefore a success as a portrait. Barack’s portrait makes me feel I need a class in understanding his portrait. The flowers make sense, now that I’ve read up a bit. The chair disappearing into the shrubbery, not so much. To me a portrait should show some truth about the subject, and I’m not seeing that here. If anything, I find that opposite. The picture is a barrier to understanding, rather than a conduit to one. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/68 "2018-02-14T00:47:00Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I think Michelle’s portrait is lovely. I think it captures her long-limbed grace. It recalls her poise and charm. For me, it successfully recalls aspects her persona and is therefore a success as a portrait. I’m disappointed that it doesn’t look like her (her face, I mean). > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Barack’s portrait makes me feel I need a class in understanding his portrait. The flowers make sense, now that I’ve read up a bit. The chair disappearing into the shrubbery, not so much. To me a portrait should show some truth about the subject, and I’m not seeing that here. If anything, I find that opposite. The picture is a barrier to understanding, rather than a conduit to one. Michelle’s portrait makes you think about Michelle, whereas Barack’s portrait makes you think about the painter. Which is nice for the painter, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/69 "2018-02-14T01:04:03Z")
I abso-fucking-lutely love them both. Aesthetically, not politically. (I also enjoyed the Impressionist version of Ronald Reagan posted above, and I hate Reagan like poison.) Michelle’s reminds me of Gustav Klimt, not only in the geometrical gown design but in the composition. [![](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Adele_Bloch-Bauer_I#/media/File%3AGustav_Klimt_046.jpg) ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Adele_Bloch-Bauer_I#/media/File%3AGustav_Klimt_046.jpg) As for all those bitching about how “it doesn’t look like her”… Gertrude Stein: “It was nice of you to paint my picture, Pablo, but it doesn’t look like me.” Pablo Picasso: “It will.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/70 "2018-02-14T01:10:20Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Yes, that is an improvement! Much less distraction, so you are drawn to his face more. > > And on closer inspection, are these paintings or photographic collages? I don’t care for that pasted on look. It looks cheap. Others on the internet have pointed out the patterns in the flowers are identical like they were cut and paste. I have not seen anything about the actual technique rge artist uses. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/71 "2018-02-14T01:55:49Z")
Now that I am looking at more of his work, most of Wiley’s backgrounds look like William Morris wallpaper designs with a photo pasted over. The 3rd figure is the post painterly. [![](https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/AssetsExhibitions/kehinde-wiley/kehinde-wiley-lady-mary-940px.jpg) ](https://www.seattleartmuseum.org/AssetsExhibitions/kehinde-wiley/kehinde-wiley-lady-mary-940px.jpg) [![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/10280848415_3965729ee1.jpg) ](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/10280848415_3965729ee1.jpg) [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/92/b8/3592b83d7ce37340fd467a1178784502.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/92/b8/3592b83d7ce37340fd467a1178784502.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/72 "2018-02-14T02:51:26Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Now that I am looking at more of his work, most of Wiley’s backgrounds look like William Morris wallpaper designs with a photo pasted over. The 3rd figure is the post painterly. I agree about the backgrounds. But I see a hyper realistic look to the actual subjects that more resembles a painting to me, even if it turns out to be a digital painting. To me, Obama up close looks a lot like that third painting in style, and that is what I meant by saying he looks good on his own. That said, I like all three of those paintings. The second one is the only one that looks like a cut out photo to me, and I suspect that’s only because it’s a lower resolution, and would look more like a painting closer up. I thought Obama looked more like a photo until I found that higher resolution picture I cropped. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/73 "2018-02-14T04:57:15Z")
I love both portraits. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/74 "2018-02-14T11:46:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > SNIP > > Look at [this quick crop](https://i.imgur.com/rGPW2H6.jpg). Does it not make the painting look a lot better? The painting in its true scale is huge. Until you see it in person you aren’t in a position to judge anything about whether it needs to be “cropped” or not. I’ve seen many of Wiley’s paintings and the balance between the floral background and the subject is not at issue. You’re confusing a huge painting with a snapshot. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/75 "2018-02-14T14:45:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Look at [this quick crop](https://i.imgur.com/rGPW2H6.jpg). Does it not make the painting look a lot better? No. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/76 "2018-02-14T15:43:28Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > …So if these are NPG ones for the Obamas, has he had his WH portrait done yet? No, not yet. I’m sure it’ll get even more publicity than this one. Churchill hated the portrait that was commissioned in his honor and given to him; his wife eventually had it destroyed: [Portrait of Winston Churchill (Sutherland) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland%27s_Portrait_of_Winston_Churchill) ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/77 "2018-02-14T16:36:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Churchill hated the portrait that was commissioned in his honor and given to him; his wife eventually had it destroyed: [Portrait of Winston Churchill (Sutherland) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland%27s_Portrait_of_Winston_Churchill) I know! I saw a fictionalized account of what went down with that Churchill portrait in The Crown on Netflix. So good! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/78 "2018-02-14T17:25:18Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > I know! I saw a fictionalized account of what went down with that Churchill portrait in The Crown on Netflix. So good! As I recall in the Netflix version, didn’t Winston do it himself? Shout out to John Lithgow, who played an inspired Churchill. It didn’t take long for the [satirical Donald portrait to surface.](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/14/1741223/-Cartoon-Trump-s-official-presidential-portrait) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/79 "2018-02-14T17:27:53Z")
Oh that’s funny. Appropriate too. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760/80 "2018-03-03T02:58:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > As I recall in the Netflix version, didn’t Winston do it himself?.. No, some workmen did it at Clementine’s bidding, I believe, both on the show and IRL. A young fan takes in the former First Lady’s portrait: [https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/03/02/powerful-photos-capture-young-girl-marveling-over-michelle-obama-portrait/23375672/](https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/03/02/powerful-photos-capture-young-girl-marveling-over-michelle-obama-portrait/23375672/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-portraits/808760.md?page=5)