Red Shirt : Ensign Bonaparte, original upcycled vintage painting

“Red Shirt : Ensign Bonaparte”

Oh, those poor red shirts! 

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to alter this print of the famous portrait of Napoleon’s younger sister, Marie Pauline. I find the idea of Princess Marie as a red shirt a fascinating parallel… in that, here is this princess who would have been in the shadow of her powerful brother, having to play her role and follow orders. Much like the obedient red shirts, doing their duty… not always with a happy ending for their efforts! 

Ensign Bonaparte’s uniform was modelled after the original series uniform, with the angled scooped neck and very, short shirts for ladies! Most famously Nichelle Nichols rocked this uniform as the groundbreaking Lt. Uhura. (I think it’s also a fun parallel that Princess Bonaparte trades up a revealing top for a revealing miniskirt uniform!)

This was a vintage postcard print of the original painting 'The Beautiful Greek'', a portrait of Princess Marie Pauline Bonaparte, by Salomon-Guillaume Counis (Swiss, 1785-1859.) I painted on top of the postcard, and framed it in the original vintage frame. 

Mixed media on vintage postcard
10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 inch) paper
14 x 19 cm (5.5 x 7.5 inch) vintage frame

Artist’s collection : This painting is one of my favourites and is in my own collection. Sometimes I let pieces from my collection go... if you are interested in this piece please get in touch. It is also available as prints and digital downloads.