| Blessed Art Thou | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Kate Kretz  |
| Year | 2000s |
| Medium | oil paint, acrylic paint, linen |
Blessed Art Thou is an oil-and-acrylic painting by American artist Kate Kretz. [1] It depicts actress Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary, hovering in the clouds with her children above a Wal-Mart store. [2]
The painting directs attention to the celebrity worship cycle: each participant in the cycle perpetuates it while pointing a finger somewhere else. [3] The title of the painting, “Blessed Art Thou”, is gotten from a line in the Catholic prayer “Hail Mary”: “…blessed art thou among women...”. [4]
The painting was originally displayed in an exhibit that featured modern and contemporary art. The painting was exhibited at the Miami Art Fair in January 2007, and created a controversy that was covered by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox television networks, as well as The International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, and many other international news sources.[ citation needed ] In 2007 the painting was for sale for $50,000. [2] [5]
A full-size drawing study for the work was included in the exhibition "Beyond Re / Production: Mothering" curated by Felicita Reuschling for the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin in 2011. [ citation needed ]