“A Portrait of Enlightenment with Voltaire” oil on Cardboard 34x36

A Portrait of Enlightenment with Voltaire” oil on Ikea Cardboard 34x36 (2025)

In this painting, I aimed to capture Voltaire through one of his smallest works, which ends with a profound idea. Micromegas is an early science fiction book written by Voltaire to satirize the scientific perceptions of his time. Micromegas is a giant alien from Sirius who visits Earth during his journey . At the end of the story, due to the vulgarity of humanity, he gives the Secretary of the Academy of Sciences a book containing all the knowledge of the universe, or at least that’s what he claims. However, when he (Fontenelle) open the book, he figure that it is completely empty.

I prefer to read this scene as a critique of the Enlightenment by Voltaire. Perhaps the empty pages weren’t just a mockery of human scientists, but rather a statement about the inevitable conclusion of the Enlightenment. The universe cannot be illuminated solely by reason, scientific calculation, or human power, nor can it be fully understood by an eye capable of seeing everything all at once. Perhaps Voltaire was also hinting at the unreachable mysteries of the universe, much like the poets Hamann or Hölderlin. In this way, the book of Micromegas could be seen as a real gift—a declaration of the only pure truth: emptiness.

This portrait of Voltaire, scars visible on his head as he holds his wig and the book, illustrates the Counter-Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, symbolized by the wig, concealed the scars that never healed, it merely covered them. The Enlightenment never fully addressed the riddles of our existence, and I believe there is no better way to explain this than through the image of scars hidden beneath the wig.