Have you ever thought to yourself “Wow, I wish I could have actual artwork in my home but have it focus on Baby Yoda”? If you’re like me and you’ve had this thought daily, you’re now in luck! For London’s National Portrait Gallery, the Child and his Dadalorian are getting their time to shine alongside other Star Wars characters.
(Screengrab from the National Portrait Gallery video)
Now THIS is what I call art. Titled “The Mandalorian and the Child,” the oil painting will hang alongside other portraits of notable Star Wars characters that include, per Entertainment Weekly: Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy), Thandie Newton (Val in Solo), Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso in Rogue One), Riz Ahmed (Bodhi Rook in Rogue One), Gareth Edwards (Rogue One director), and Ben Morris (VFX supervisor on The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi).
The free ticketed event will run this weekend in honor of the premiere of the second season of The Mandalorian (which comes out tomorrow), and you can see a timelapse video of the portrait here.
Now that all that business is out of the way, let me get real about this oil painting: I would buy it. It would hang on my wall and each and every day I would cherish it. Do I have a problem when it comes to anything Baby Yoda related? I mean, I have three separate sweatshirts, two shirts, two Baby Yoda dolls, a phone case, and a Christmas tree ornament. Just this week I discussed how I would let the terrifying/terrifyingly cute Baby Yoda robot toy kill me. I think I’m TAME, right?
This particular collection of oil paintings makes one thing clear: many of us love the stand-alone properties from the Star Wars universe. In my humble opinion, Rogue One is easily the best movie in the Star Wars canon, and I’ve already stated that I think The Mandalorian is the best thing that LucasFilm has done yet.
And having this portrait gallery that brings to life so many characters from both Rogue One and The Mandalorian? Displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in the presence of Queen Elizabeth and Lord Byron and Anne Boleyn? It’s honestly incredible. (If they’re selling those Thandie Newton and Riz Ahmed portraits, I would also take them.) This is also exciting because it brings the beauty of the Star Wars franchise to life in a whole new light.
We’re looking at it from a different standpoint, artistically, and getting to see how other artists would picture this universe. It’s a beautiful oil painting in general, a true work of art, and having Baby Yoda attached to it? Just makes it that much more precious to me.
So enjoy the painting of Baby Yoda that will no doubt be studied in art history books for centuries to come. But please, refrain from making “draw him like one of your French girl” jokes. He’s just a 50-year-old baby! He hasn’t seen Titanic.
If you have the chance to go to this event, please send me all the pictures so I can live vicariously through you. And if you want to plan a heist for me and take the Child, I wouldn’t exactly be MAD about it.
(image: LucasFilm)
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