In the hall’s of the Smithsonian Museum of Art is a section of athlete portraits. Among those portraits is an oil on canvas portrait of Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers in the history of boxing. Painted by Henry C. Casselli Jr. in 1981 this portrait stood out among the others to me. It could be due to the fact that I am a huge boxing fan, however I believe the painting caught my eye due to the fact that it is simple, detailed, and amazing in size.
The painting is a portrait of Muhammad Ali stretching a pair of ropes with in some sort of training exercise. The painting has a dark background with Ali being the only subject and contrasting the dark background. Ali is painted wearing his traditional white trunks and with white hand wraps in place. These two features help contrast Ali from the dark background. Around the figure of Ali one can also notice a darker shade almost as it being a shadow or outline of his figure. Ali’s expression in this painting is serious, focused and determined as if he is focusing on training.
Another interesting feature the artist uses in this painting is the use of a prop. The prop in this painting are the ropes Ali is stretching out. The ropes Ali stretches out are thin and white and almost resemble training bands or the boxing ring ropes. The painter has Ali use the props in a way that allows the viewer to visualize how impressive Muhammad Ali’s reach was. His long reach was known to be an incredible feature of his physique. This pose also allows the viewer to see the size of Ali’s hands as they look massive.
Muhammad Ali will always be remembered as being a huge American Icon for his boxing abilities and his outspokenness. Born Cassius Clay, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam. He was a strong anti Vietnam war advocate and was even arrested for being found guilty of draft evasion charges. After being suspended from boxing, Ali brought his arrest case all the way to the Supreme Court and had it overturned. After serving a four year ban from the sport Ali returned and regained his world heavyweight title. Ali was famously known for his bitter rivalry with Joe Frazier and for being the first to defeat George Foreman, who at the time was thought to be unbeatable. Shortly after his boxing career ended Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Many experts believe he developed this disease due to his brutal battles in the ring, specifically the trilogy he held with his bitterest rival Joe Frazier.
derekd9 