Brow Beat

Beyoncé Has Gifted Us All With Even More Ridiculous (Underwater!) Maternity Photos

Bey has blessed us twice in one week.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

On Wednesday, Beyoncé bestowed the gift of hope upon her fans and the world with an announcement via Instagram that she is pregnant with twins. That announcement, and the portrait that accompanied it, quickly broke the record for most-liked Instagram post ever (almost 8.5 million and counting), a record previously held by a Selena Gomez ad for Coke.

The Beyhive’s adoration was rewarded again on Thursday, when Beyoncé released the rest of her gorgeous maternity shoot, which is much more elaborate than the initial, Sears-y photo would suggest. According to Art News, the shoot, titled “I Have Three Hearts,” is the work of Awol Erizku, a Bronx-raised, Los Angeles–based photographer who is also responsible for the famous photo of Bey and husband Jay-Z at the Louvre, edited so that the portrait behind them features a black version of Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring.

The full pregnancy album is also interspersed with poetry from Warsan Shire, who was prominently featured on Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade. Among the dreamy underwater shots and vivid floral portraits are photos of Beyoncé’s first pregnancy with now-5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, as well as shots of her mother and grandmother. There is plenty of regal and divine imagery in the mix, too, with apparent allusions to Egyptian queen Nefertiti, Roman diety Venus, and Yoruba goddess Osun.

A selection of photos are below, and you can find the entire shoot on Beyoncé’s website.