Portrait of Peter Carl MacKay, Mathilde Battenberg
Mathilde Battenberg
Portrait of Peter Carl MacKay
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Mathilde Battenberg

Portrait of Peter Carl MacKay, 1915


Dimensions
91.5 x 75 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
2590
Acquisition
Acquired in 2023 with funds provided by a private donor
Status
On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 14

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About the Work

The man in ornate clothing is distinguished by an air of thoughtful nonchalance. Mathilde Battenberg painted this portrait in a single sitting. The subject was first identified only recently, in the framework of this exhibition project. It is Peter Carl MacKay, who was thirty-four years old at the time. His chequered biography took him from his native St Croix, an island in the Caribbean, across Europe.

Whether as a paid model at art schools, peanut trader, circus performer in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic, or, ultimately, tipster at the major English horseraces, Peter MacKay gained increasing fame. He made cleverly playful use of the colonial fantasies abounding in his European surroundings. Under the pseudonym “Ras Prince Monolulu” he appeared in the scintillating role of an Ethiopian prince. With his gaily coloured costume—later also including elaborate feather decoration—he deliberately catered to the racist clichés of his time while at the same time poking fun at them.

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Last update

15.11.2024