King Charles III on Tuesday unveiled the first official portrait painted of himself since his coronation just over a year ago: a striking oil painting in which he looks straight ahead against a background of dappled shades of red, pink and fuchsia. .
The painting, by renowned portrait painter Jonathan Yeo, was unveiled at Buckingham Palace, the royal family said on Monday. social media. Video It showed the king pulling a ribbon tied to the cloth that covered the imposing work, which, when it fell, seemed to give him a small surprise.
Yeo, who has painted the likes of David Attenborough, Idris Elba and activist Malala Yousafzai, began the portrait in June 2021, when the king was still Prince of Wales. He depicts him wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was regimental colonel, with a butterfly floating on his shoulder.
Like that butterfly, the king’s “role in our public life has been transformed,” Yeo said in the statement issued Tuesday by the royal family. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched in each sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait,” he said, noting that trying to capture the king was “a tremendous challenge.” professional work”. challenge, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed and for which I am immensely grateful.”
The portrait, 7.5 feet by 5.5 feet, was commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Drapers, a medieval guild of wool and cloth merchants that is now a philanthropic organization. It will hang in Drapers’ Hall, the group’s baronial quarter in London’s financial district, which features a gallery of monarchs from King George III to Queen Victoria.
The revelation came just weeks after the king announced his return to public duties, almost three months after revealing he had cancer, bringing palpable relief to a country eager for another heartbreaking change to the British monarchy.
Mr Yeo previously told The Times that he did not learn of the king’s illness until he finished the painting, which depicts the character in vivid color with a contemplative but imposing gaze. Mr Yeo has also painted the king’s wife, Queen Camilla, and her father, Prince Philip. Other subjects have included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, actors Dennis Hopper and Nicole Kidman and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. He has said that the best portraits capture visual characteristics that remain relevant even as a person ages.
As for the king, Yeo told The Times that he had noticed physical changes in the four sessions they were together, during which time the king was undergoing a height metamorphosis.
“The age and experience suited him,” Yeo told the Times. “His behavior definitely changed after he became king.”