Members of the royal family pose frequently for portraits. And even when they don’t, artists love to paint them anyway. Some of these portraits have garnered near-unanimous praise and have stood the test of time, entering history. Others have attracted mixed reactions and negative criticism.
This is the case with the first official portrait of King Charles III. In the painting, revealed on Tuesday (14), Charles is enveloped in a red cloud, as if he is “burning from hell,” some commented on social media.
The author of the work, renowned artist Jonathan Yeo, stated that he had the opportunity to meet the subject of his work over four sessions, starting in 2021, when Charles was still the Prince of Wales, and continuing after the coronation last May.
“When I started this project, His Majesty the King was still His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and much like the butterfly I painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait evolved as the subject’s role in our public life transformed,” Yeo said.
“I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched on the face of any model, and I hope that is what I achieved in this portrait,” he added.
“Trying to capture this for His Majesty the King, who occupies such a unique role, was a tremendous professional challenge, which I enjoyed immensely and for which I am immensely grateful,” he concluded.
The comments on social media were not the best:
“As bizarre as the portrait of Dorian Gray and the cursed one from Ghostbusters,” said one internet user in relation to the haunted painting from the movie Ghostbusters 2 (1989).
“Never has a ‘self-presentation’ of nobility been so true to the pig spirit of the English nobleman as this portrait that King Charles has shown us.”
It’s like observing a subject surrounded by an aura of blood and death. The fact that he was satisfied with the image also tells us a lot about him,” concluded another user.
Source: The New York Times