An aerial view of Paris and the River Seine, represented as a beautiful woman, is the best way to describe Thaïs (2005) by New Zealand-born artist Douglas MacDiarmid, who has called the French capital home for more than 60 years. This is a painting of Paris as you have never seen her before.

The owner of this striking artwork watched its evolution through three versions, on visits to France, until MacDiarmid had captured what he was striving to achieve. You can still see the curve of the river and the angles of the arrondissements on either bank in the womanly form.

Like Paris, Thaïs has many faces. Her role in ancient history is well documented in classical literature. She was a famous Greek courtesan, who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. A woman of many parts, she was more an elite companion than a prostitute, providing intellectual stimulation as well as sex. Alexander liked to keep her with him because she was a larger than life character, very witty and entertaining.

Thaïs was the lover of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander’s generals, who became King of Egypt after his death. She had enormous influence on these men and is most famous for instigating the burning of the city of Persepolis.

Then there is Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary 4th Century convert from pleasure-seeking to Christianity. Her life, based on a 19th Century novel by Anatole France, was portrayed in a French lyrical comic opera by Jules Massenet, first performed in 1894.

This is a good example of Douglas imbuing his work with the classical references he so loves. The two earlier acrylic iterations of this painting are also in New Zealand, in private collections in Wellington and Auckland, and are much more topographical in approach – a bird’s eye view of inner Paris, whereas this painting has become a mind-map.

The painting appeared at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery as part of the Colours of a Life exhibition, which continued until 23 September 2018. The exhibition coincided with the launch of the life and times biography of Douglas MacDiarmid, then aged 95. The book is available to purchase here, at the gallery, or ask for it at all good bookstores throughout New Zealand.