Mickalene Thomas describes the women in her portraits—all from her intimate circle of friends and family—as “women that possess a directness in themselves, a palpable confidence that’s attractive to me and that I want to capture. There’s something about them, who they are, how they walk, how they enter a room or carry themselves, that I can relate to or want to emulate.” A friend introduced her to Qusuquzah, a transgender model, who has become one of Thomas’s muses and frequent subjects.

Thomas’s work reveals her familiarity with sources ranging from 19th-century French painting to Jet magazine and the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Her portraits place her subjects in lush domestic interiors that recall the backgrounds of Old Master paintings, and this painting’s title references 19th-century painter Édouard Manet’s description of the Black model Laure as a “très belle negresse” (very beautiful Black woman). Thomas uses bright colors, the glitter of rhinestones, and bold patterns in her paintings, allowing viewers to see her subjects as confident, relaxed, and glamorous.

Mickalene Thomas (born 1971), Qusuquzah Une Tres Belle Negresse #4. Rhinestones, silkscreen, and acrylic paint on wood panel, 2023. 67 × 57 in. (170.2 × 144.8 cm). Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 2024.5. On view in Gallery 28.