Above, the first official portrait of HM King Charles III. Commissioned by The Drapers’ Company, it depicts the King larger than life and wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which His Majesty was made Colonel in 1975. His Majesty had four sittings with the artist Mr Jonathan Yeo between June 2021 and November 2023 at Highgrove and later at Clarence House.
Image source: https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/aabf22cd-a7f8-4e3b-9f01-79943a78661e/king-charles-2-ap-gmh-240514_1715704383984_hpMain.jpg
NB: The image I use has been edited and reduced in size. It is still however 256kB in size. In October 2009 when the blog was founded this would have been way too big. I’ve always tried to keep the image size <100kB. Technology however has developed over the past 15 years so accessing this page should not be too problematical for most users.
The artist’s website: https://www.jonathanyeo.com/new-index-41
British Gazette comment: Since classical times, leaders and rulers have had their images portrayed in statue and in painting. All have aimed to project a certain image.
Before the invention of photography, the artists had a collective monopoly of this realm. Following the invention of photography, photographers (like myself) became part of this collective.
Following the establishment of photography as a medium for projecting a leader’s or ruler’s image, the artists tended to alter their portrayal moving away from a real life rendition of their subject to a more impressionistic rendition.
I must state that I have always admired and envied the ability of great artists such as Jonathan Yeo to do what they do with their eyes and hands. Basically because, I cannot!
Of course, Mr Yeo will be fully aware that the art world is the place to go to for the use of superlatives in describing works of art. He will also know that the art world is full of creations that the average member of the public would question as being a “work of art”! Mr Yeo can be absolutely confident that nobody will question his work as being anything other than a “work of art” and many will describe the work as a masterpiece. For myself, I would state that the use of the word “masterpiece” is not in my opinion excessive praise.
The other thing that I – and I am sure Mr Yeo feels the same – is that the painting will receive much comment!
One description I will apply to the painting is that it is a historical artefact. Just as Hans Holbein the Younger’s famous painting of King Henry VIII.
Of course, King Henry VIII was far more than a constitutional figurehead. He was the absolute ruler of the Kingdom of England. King Henry VIII was a significant ruler in the history of these British Isles. His Majesty King Charles III is a constitutional figurehead. History will both record and judge His Majesty’s reign insofar as it’s ultimate importance and significance to the history of these British Isles. We are after all at the beginning of His Majesty’s reign.