they're hanging Hannibal fanart in the U.S. Capitol
and the painting is REALLY good
It’s so exciting when the stars align to create the most surrealist, lighthearted news possible — in this case, that a show created eight years ago is getting representation in our nation’s Capitol.
The Congressional Art Competition is held each year by the Congressional Institute to encourage high schoolers to pursue visual art. They submit work, and a painting from each district is chosen to hang in the Capitol building.
Here’s the painting, which won in New Jersey’s Third District:
The Cubism adds an extra level of artistry, without a doubt. Look at the shading! The bird! The clothes! Even if it wasn’t fanart, it would still be an excellent painting.
But it’s really not subtle at all. Titled “Dolce,” it’s based off of this exact scene from the Hannibal episode of the same name as Will and Hannibal reunite in front of Botticelli’s “Primavera.”
It’s arguably one of the most romantic scenes of a show that’s fighting to be both a Gothic horror and romantic comedy. It’s good stuff.
I’d like to attribute the fact that this painting exists at all to the Great Hannibal Resurgence of 2020, which began mid-quarantine when Netflix uploaded the show’s three seasons to its platform in June. So people started recommending it and watching it.
A lot of people in the teens-to-mid-20s range, who were maybe too young to watch the stomach-turning gore of a totem pole made of bodies or a live man emerging from a dead horse in 2013 decided to give it a shot. So the show, and the fandom, has been reborn. (Sort of like the guy who came out of the horse.)
It began, in part, a massive lobby for season four, which may or may not happen — and may or may not should happen. But the sheer number of people watching now seem more capable of handling the show’s grotesque violence and explicitly queer romance than they were during the show’s original runtime.
Either way, at that, Rep. Andy Kim is now part of the campaign team:
If, by any chance, you haven’t watched “Hannibal,” and this absurdity has convinced you that you’d like to, you may need to work fast. It’s leaving Netflix June 4 — though still available on Hulu and Prime for the time being.
Lastly, if you want this to be us, you know where to find me. 👀
some music recommendations for you:
My girlboss hannibal playlist, which it feels appropriate to share.
The new Lord Huron album, whose beauty made me cry in the car a little bit yesterday.
Sufjan Stevens’ instrumental music, good for working or meditating — and, at times, feeling like you’re being lobotomized. Listen, and you’ll see what I mean.
If you want to plan a trip to see the U.S. Capitol Hannibal fanart with me, find me on Twitter and Tumblr (where I blog a lot about Hannibal). You can also share this with your friends. Maybe it’ll manifest a really good season four, or something.