Detail of Padmé Bouguereau by Onepixel on Worth1000. Click for full image (750px × 1,000px)

In the Star Wars saga, Padmé Naberrie, better known as Padmé Amidala Skywalker, was determined to fix what wrongs she could in the ailing Republic, serving its Senate and her idyllic home planet of Naboo. Though her career should have precluded it, Padmé nonetheless found time for a secret, forbidden romance with Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi hero of the Clone Wars who would tragically fall to the dark side and become Darth Vader. Padmé was one of the earliest casualties of the Dark Lord, but with the last of her dying strength, she brought a new hope into the galaxy that would eventually redeem Anakin.

In the movies, Padmé Amidala was portrayed by actress Natalie Portman. In the portrait above she has become a stand-in for Bouguereau’s Faneuse (The Haymaker), painted in 1869. The image, created by digital artist OnePixel, was the winner in the second edition of the Star Wars Ren contest on Worth1000, in 2009. Below you can compare the two versions. Click the first to visit the gallery where you will find several more contemporary variations, click the second to view Padmé Bouguereau on Worth1000. The third image shows Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala.