Oil Painting , Golden Leaf Set

Emperor Auson, the eighteenth Celestial Emperor of the World-Empire. Like his predecessors, he was believed to be a godly manifestation of the very forces of the universe. Important note: he’s dead. In All Under Heaven, this coronation portrait was painted posthumously; the painters never saw Auson in person. To the nobility who funded this portrait, Auson was a symbol of better times, a symbolic icon whose memory could be easily swayed to their interests by propaganda. They would have wanted Auson to be shown as a glorious leader and demi-human figure, so I painted him as such. Standing seemed human to me, so I had him float in a heavenly space of pure gold. He is physically gigantic, standing a head and a half taller than anyone else. Around him are the chief money-payers of this portrait, whose presence in the face of the God-Emperor allows them greater prestige in society. His head is crowned with a halo of Aurei characters, which state "Tagama (Auson’s reign title), one who is above all".