AKU-2020-044

Icon Painting Studio Byzantium, Thessaloniki

The Golden Parachute: Bezos's Divorce Settlement

2019

Gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel

60 × 45 cm

Acquisition

Purchased, 2020

Curator’s Note

The icon follows Byzantine Deësis conventions: two figures in frontal poses, positioned symmetrically around a central vertical axis, hands raised in the orans gesture. Gold leaf halos have been applied in the traditional mordant-gilding technique. Between the figures, rendered in a compressed perspective field, is a document containing the text of the settlement's key provision: the transfer of 4% of Amazon shares, valued at $38 billion on the date of announcement. The icon was completed two months after the settlement was made public.