Kanye Gives Kim Kardashian a George Condo-Painted Hermès Birkin Bag

Kim Kardashian posted an image of her Condo-painted Birkin late yesterday with the following hashtag-filled caption: “#HandPaintedGeorgeCondo #HermesBirkin #OneofOne #ChristmasPresentFromYeezy” (via Kim Kardasian’s Instagram)

Kanye has had a longstanding relationship with artist George Condo, who painted the image that appeared on the cover of the pop singer’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but their latest “collaboration” came in the form of a gift for Kim Kardashian — a hand-painted Hermès Birkin bag.

Condo’s cover for Kanye’s 2010 album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”

Birkins, which retail for anywhere from $7,400 to $150,000, are one of contemporary pop culture’s symbols of wealth, often associated with celebrities. New York Magazine’s The Cut blog estimates that Condo’s “canvas” for Kardashian probably cost $40,000.

If you don’t know the scale of a Birkin, take a look at this pic to see the big-ass (pardon the pun) bag. No word on how much Kanye paid Condo for the work.

A typical Judgement of Paris composition by Joseph Hauber, “The Judgement of Paris” (1819) (via Wikipedia)

Judging by Kanye’s ego, I’m going to guess that the person on the left with the green mask is Kanye, while the three Kardashian sisters appear on the right. I think the composition alludes to the Judgement of Paris, where Kanye is playing the role of the Greek mythological figure who’s given the task of choosing the most lovely female goddess (Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite vied for the golden apple that Paris was to bestow on to the winner). No sign of the apple, though, only a glass of wine — which seems fitting since I’d probably need to be drunk to judge or take part in such a contest. The story is a popular one in the history of Western art, and here we see what looks like a version of it on a Birkin. My guess is that Kim Kardashian is the second figure from the right, and her face is the only one not distorted in a characteristically Condo way — it seems obvious who the winner of this “beauty pageant” is.

Judging by Kardashian’s Instagram post, the bag doesn’t seem popular with her demographic, as comments like “horrible” and “Holy shitballs. That is ugly.” dominate the feed.