Black woman as God

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The Artist Daring to Paint God as a Black Woman

Harmonia Rosales caused an uproar with her depiction of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam.

READBy Frank Tempone

For two months last spring, Harmonia Rosales reimagined the creation story Michelangelo painted in the Sistine Chapel. If you followed the artist on social media, you saw her creation take shape, watched as her paintbrush told the story anew. Its figures — Jesus, Adam, God and a chorus of angels — were similar to the original, except for one striking detail: They were all Black women.

And then the floodgates opened.

Rosales completed The Creation of God on May 5, and thousands gathered on Instagram and Facebook. Most offered praise; they were overjoyed and moved to see mothers, aunts and grandmothers in the face of God. Others called the work “degenerate,” “blasphemous,” an “appropriation of white culture.” Some were more offensive.