Kehinde Wiley

The poses of the two young men in Marechal Floriano Peixoto II are adapted from two figures at the base of a famous monument dedicated to the military marshal and second President of Brazil, Floriano Peixoto. Located in a public plaza in Rio de Janeiro, the statue shows the standing figure of a Catholic priest presenting a crucifix to a young girl, presumably Indigenous. Colonialism has long been associated with religion in Brazil, and directly linked to territorial domination. In contrast to the statue, Wiley’s monumental painting entwines the locals with regional flowers, and the standing figure holds not a cross, but a bamboo reed, a plant native to the Brazilian rainforest. Both figures gaze directly at the viewer, rather than down at the ground, and their calm presence suggests strength, pride and comfort in a gentle integration with the natural world that permeates the scene.