Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of the Mona Lisa is one of the most, if not the most, visited paintings in the world. We’ll see more of Veronese’s work later in the video.Īctual footage of the Mona Lisa’s reaction to Beyoncé You can also see paintings by Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese like Supper in Emmaus (right) and Jupiter Hurling Thunderbolts at The Vices (left). So much tenderness and love in one picture! I couldn’t help but notice similarities between this painting and Beyonce’s maternity photoshoot (pictured below) with her twins Rumi and Sir, who just celebrated their first birthday a few days before the video was released.ĪPES**T begins playing once we see Bey and Jay standing in front of the Mona Lisa - you might have heard of it.

The Virgin of the Green Cushion, Andrea Solario, 1507

The colorful lights shining on the ceiling take away from the austerity of the painting and set the tone for the video- this is going to be more than a showcase of art. Originally Charles Le Brun was commissioned to paint this ceiling, but the project was handed over to Delacroix who discarded Le Brun’s idea of placing Apollo in a chariot in favor or your typical Good vs Evil painting. How much do you think it takes to rent out the entire Louvre?Ĭhanging colors light up the ceiling of the LouvreĪpollo Slays Python, Eugene Delacroix, 1850 It’s an interesting choice in terms of filming location, and you can argue whether or not it’s “empowering” or “political enough,” but as you figure that out, here’s a comprehensive guide to each of the artworks featured in the video. The music video for APES**T features black bodies in a museum that predominantly showcases white artists and artworks that definitely call back to colonialism. The track, produced in part by Pharrell Williams, features vocals from Offset and Quavo from Migos so you already know this song is going to be the summer’s hottest track, and the visually-stunning music video might spark as much conversation as Childish Gambino’s This is America. With it came a ton of art references- the album cover features the Mona Lisa and the music video for its first single APES**T was filmed in the Louvre ( watch it here ). R&B/hip-hop power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z dropped their long-awaited album Everything Is Love without warning this past weekend. The Carters’ newest music video is a work of art.

Beyonce and jay z music video