Charles the First, from Portfolio II, is a commanding and densely layered work that exemplifies Jean-Michel Basquiat’s engagement with history, power, and symbolic violence. Organized into vertical bands of pale yellow, blue, and deep navy, the composition reads like a fragmented archive—part ledger, part mural—onto which Basquiat inscribes text, signs, and figures with urgent immediacy.

The title references King Charles I of England, whose execution in 1649 marked a radical rupture in the idea of divine monarchy. Basquiat draws a pointed parallel between historical authority and contemporary structures of power, reinforced by recurring crown motifs, crossed-out words, and scrawled declarations such as “MOST KINGS GET THEIR HEAD CUT OFF.” These blunt statements function less as historical footnotes than as warnings, collapsing centuries of political history into a raw, present-tense critique.

Throughout the surface, Basquiat weaves together disparate cultural references—mythological names like “THOR,” Indigenous signifiers such as “CHEROKEE,” and fragments of copyright marks, numbers, and symbols—creating a visual language that resists linear reading. Mask-like heads, schematic figures, and erratic mark-making suggest both erasure and survival, while repeated crossings-out emphasize revision, censorship, and the instability of meaning itself.

As with much of Basquiat’s work, Charles the First balances aggression with intelligence. The apparent chaos is carefully orchestrated, using color blocks and rhythmic repetition to anchor the composition. Within Portfolio II, the print stands as a forceful meditation on leadership, downfall, and the cyclical nature of power—an assertion that history, like language, is written by those who claim authority, but never without consequence. For more information on Jean Michel Basquiat Charles The First for sale, contact our New york and London galleries via the form below.